The Little Merman
by Nithul
Summary: FINISHED! My version of the little mermaid. Yugi is the merman, Atemu is the prince. What could possibly go wrong? Let's think about that, EVERYTHING! RE-EDITED ON 10-14-2013; SPELLING AND GRAMMAR ERRORS CORRECTED, I hope.
1. Chapter 1

**Alverna:** Another new story. I can't help it, I have too many ideas. Enjoy. I don't own Yu-gi-oh or the Little Mermaid.

**07/18/2012-** I have put a picture up for this story. It's Yugi rescuing Atemu in Chapter 3. For the full size picture, go to my deviant art page.

**10/14/2013-** I have done a re-edit of the story. So hopefully all spelling and grammar errors have been caught. I've also added some story detail in near all of the chapters. The most noticeable is that 'Under the Sea' in chapter 4 is not just song any more. Enjoy!

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><p><span>Pairings<span>

~Confirmed

Atemu x Yugi (Blindshipping)

Bakura x Ryou (Tendershipping)

~Implied/Eventual

Seto x Joey (Puppyshipping)

Marik x Malik (Bronzeshipping)

Leon x Rebecca (Foreignshipping)

~One Sided

Yugi x Rebecca (Replayshipping)

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

* * *

><p>About 5,000 years ago, a ship sailed across what is now known as the Mediterranean Sea, returning from a peace treaty that was made in Greece. On that ship was one member of the royal family of Egypt, Prince Atemu. Along with the young royal were the several of the High Priest of the court, including Atemu's cousin Seto, his Uncle Aknadin, and High Priest Mahad. The remaining members were either members of the court, servants, or sailors.<p>

Prince Atemu's father, Pharaoh Aknankanon had remained in Egypt to settle threat of a civil war while Atemu made peace with China and Greece. With that job done, he was on his way home. But he got bored really quick.

"Where did Atemu get to this time?" Seto seethed.

The High Priest was wearing a creamy under tunic that went down to his ankles, with a blue outer tunic on top of that. Golden arm cuffs ran from his wrist to his elbows, while a golden belt circled his waist. Elegant sandals covered his feet. A priest hat covered his brown hair. The Millennium Rod was in a loop on his belt.

"It's not that big of a ship." a nearby voice snickered. "How could you be having so much trouble?"

"I don't see you doing much better Lord Bakura." Seto snapped.

The mentioned one, Bakura, was wearing a black tunic that dropped to his mid-calf, and the sleeves reached his mid-upper arm. The tunic was held in place by a dark grey belt that looped around his waist. A sleeveless blood red robe was trimmed with black, and stopped above his knees. He had stalk white, semi-spiky hair, and dark brown, almost black, eyes. He also wore sandals with no jewelry.

"Why you-" Bakura started towards Seto.

He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Turning, Bakura saw the chocolate brown eyes that made his heart melt every time he saw them.

"Please don't fight." Ryou said.

Ryou was Bakura's husband. He wore a red tunic that came to mid-calf, sleeves reaching his elbows, and was held in place by a black belt. A dark grey outer tunic warded off the oceans misty chill. Sandals decked his feet, and no jewelry.

Ryou had the same albino white hair, so similar they could pass as twins. The differences between the two, was that Ryou had pale skin, compared to Bakura's tan, his hair was less wild, and he had a less muscular frame than his husband.

Ryou also, unfortunately, didn't remember any of his past. Bakura had found him a year ago, washed up at the mouth of the Nile River after a storm. It was assumed Ryou had been shipwrecked and had hit his head at some point during the storm, thus giving him amnesia.

"Prince Atemu is on the bow of the ship." Ryou continued.

"Thanks love." Bakura hugged his smaller self.

"Atemu!" Seto barked seeing his cousin sitting out on the bow. "Get back here!"

"Why?" Atemu asked.

The prince had gravity deifying star-shaped tri-color hair that was black, blonde, and tipped in crimson, along with three lightning bolts streaks that went up his hair. His skin was tanned from the light Ra gave every single day. His cream colored tunic was elaborately decorated, gold cuffs lay on this wrist and arms, and gold earrings hung from his ears.

"You could fall in and drown if you don't." Seto replied.

"And then Marik could fish me back out again." Atemu shot back.

He stood up and held onto some of the ropes to keep his balance. Many times Atemu had purposely jumped over the side of the boat with Bakura, simply because they were board.

"Did someone say my name?" a new voice said.

Everyone turned to look at the spiky, wild, white-blond haired speaker with lavender colored eyes who, surprisingly, was another Lord. He wore a simple tan tunic whose sleeves came to his elbows and dropped down to his ankles, being held in place by a black belt that encircled his waist. On top of these, he wore a decorated dark purple robe, so dark it was almost black. It was sleeveless and fell to mid-calf. Elaborate sandals decked his feet and simple gold cuffs were on his wrist.

"Only talking about how you might get to go fishing for royalty again." Bakura answered his friend.

"Oh okay." Marik grinned with a knowing look.

"Isn't this great?" Atemu asked to no one in particular. "The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face… a perfect day to be at sea! Right Mahad?"

The mentioned person was a High Priest of court. He wore a long cream tunic that fell to his ankles, held in place by a blue belt with gold trimming. His brown hair was covered by his head cover, but the cover made his knowledgeable brown eyes stand out from the tanned skin of his face. But at the moment, his eyes were looking over the side of the ship as he lost his breakfast.

"Oh yes…" Mahad moaned in complete sarcasm as he looked up at his prince. "Delightful…"

Then he ducked down again as another wave of nausea swept over him. Mahad was one of those people who really felt the bumpy effects from riding a ship.

"A fine strong wind and a following sea." Dartz, a man with turquoise hair and was the captain of the ship, said as he tightened the lines.

He wore closed white and blue robes, including a foot length cloak. His hair featured a two locked fringe, trailed to near knee length, and was tied at waist length.

"King Solomon must be in a friendly-type mood." Alister, another sailor, spoke up from where he was sorting fish for lunch.

Alister had red hair and grey eyes. He wore a large open full-body coat that he had gotten in China to cover his normal Egyptian robes.

"King Solomon?" Atemu asked as he hopped off the bow and onto the deck.

"Why, ruler of the merpeople, lad." Dartz chuckled as he tied the lines firmly in place.

"Thought every good sailor, and ruler, knew about him." Alister snorted.

"I know about him." Atemu said indignantly. "I'd just like to hear the story again, that's all."

"Merpeople!" Seto snorted. "Cousin, pay no attention to this nautical nonsense."

"But it isn't nonsense, it's the truth!" Alistair said. "I'm telling you, down in the depths of the ocean they live. My parents saw one with their own eyes."

"Really?" Atemu asked. His attention, as well as his friends, was focused on the sailor.

"Yes my prince." Alistair nodded. "It was when they just got married. They had gone out fishing, trying to catch there dinner on their honeymoon. Anyway, when they pulled up the net, a blond haired merboy with a dusty honey gold tail was in the net. Naturally they were shocked. But after a quick discussion, they let him go, and never saw him again. But they did find a small bag full of eyeball sized pearls and other ocean gems in their boat the next day. It was enough for them to live the life we live now, and make sure that I got an education."

"What utter nonsense." Seth growled.

"Have it your way." Alistair shrugged.

"I wish I could meet a merperson." Atemu whispered to himself as he looked back over the horizon, then down into the depths of the deep blue sea.

* * *

><p>Down in the deep blue sea, there was a merteen with black hair that was tipped with amethyst and blond bangs framing his face, pale skin, and innocent amethyst eyes. He also had a beautiful amethyst tail where his legs should be. He was a mermaid. Merboy. Merteen actually, he was 16.<p>

The merboy was not where he needed to be, which was at his home. He had purposely left his home because his grandfather had wanted him to meet his fiancée. A girl. But he had ditched and was exploring a newly discovered sunken ship. New to him anyway, it had been sunk for about six months.

"Yugi, wait for us…" a voice called out.

Yugi turned him amethyst eyes to a male merteen of 16 years, blond hair, hazel eyes and, a dusty honey gold tail swimming after him.

"Joey!" Yugi hissed, not wanting to waste any more time. "Hurry up! You to Malik."

"You know we can't swim as fast as you." Joey panted as he joined his friend, along with another merteen named Malik.

Malik had platinum blond hair, lilac colored eyes, and a sandy colored tail that had two lilac colored stripes running down his sides. He was 16 as well.

"You both have longer tails than I do." Yugi pointed out. "How could you swim slower than me?"

"One of nature's mysteries that's probably better left as a secret." Malik said with a simple nod.

"Yes my prince, Malik is right." Joey agreed.

"Quit calling me prince." Yugi moaned.

It was one of the things Joey did to irritate him. Malik to. But Yugi was a prince, his grandfather was King Solomon. Both his parents had died when Yugi was very young due to a bad shipwreck that had been caused by humans. Joey had lost his mother and sister to the same shipwreck.

"Well, we're here." Joey looked around. "Isn't it fantastic?"

"Shhh." Yugi shushed his friend, not interested in getting a shark or octopus's attention.

"I wonder what we'll find." Malik said in a hushed whisper.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Yugi gave a muffled squeal and darted forward, Joey and Malik followed hot on his fins.

Then they saw what had excited him. It was a long piece of gold that, went on the arm, traditionally the left. They only knew that thanks to seeing pictures on scrolls they had taken from other ships. Three gold slates could slide out from the main arm band, and could be used to summon something called a 'duel monster'. They hadn't figured out what a 'duel monster' was yet.

"Have you ever seen anything so wonderful in your entire life?" Yugi asked, not keeping still as he held his new treasure close.

"Cool!" Joey exclaimed.

"But, err, what is it called?" Malik asked.

"Didn't the scroll call it a DiaDhank?" Joey asked.

"Something like that." Yugi said. "Let's see if we can find more."

Three hours, dodging a few falling pieces of rotting wood, one shark chase that had the shark ending up with it getting tangled in a net that was on the ship, and some words best not repeated uttered later, Joey and Malik also clutched DiaDhanks to their chests.

"Hmm, I wonder what is." Yugi picked up a golden box with hieroglyphics on it.

"Let's figure it out later." Joey said.

"He's right." Malik agreed. "We were gone much longer than I originally thought. Ishizu is going to kill me with all the chores I'm going to get when I get home."

"Why?" Yugi turned to his friend, putting the box and the DiaDhank in the pouch he had brought along for such purposes.

"Cause I was supposed to meet my fiancée." Malik shuddered.

(**A/N:** No, you will not meet any fiancées. I don't have enough female characters and I'm too lazy to make up any OCs for the job.)

"Fiancée?" Yugi questioned, and then turned pale himself. "Oh no! Grandpa is going to kill me!"

"You were supposed to meet yours earlier?" Joey questioned. "If I had known you two had plans, I would have said no to our excursion."

"No time to talk, time to swim!" Yugi yelled as he sped off towards the palace, Malik and Joey right behind him.

However, unbeknownst to any of them, a couple of half eel half humans were watching them. They were bald twins, one named Para, the other Dox. They were unagi, and they were using magic to show what was happening to another.

The other was half man half octopus, a Tako. He had silver, slightly past shoulder length hair. A golden eye was sitting in his left socket. His name was Pegasus, and he was highly interested in what Yugi was doing.

(**A/N:** Unagi is Japanese for eel, I couldn't think of anything else, and Tako is Japanese for Octopus. Also for kite and a few other words.)

"Yes, hurry home, little prince." Pegasus said as he sipped some wine. "We wouldn't want to miss old grandpa's celebration of your new fiancée, now, would we? Huh! Celebration indeed. Bah! In MY day, we had fantastical feasts when I lived in the palace. This was long before you were born however."

Pegasus shook his head in thought as he took another sip of wine.

"And now, look at me." Pegasus went on with a sigh. "Wasted away to practically nothing. Banished and exiled, and practically starving, while he and his flimsy fish-folk celebrate. Well, I'll give them something to celebrate soon enough. Para! Dox!"

The two said snapped to attention as Pegasus looked at the image of Yugi hiding his bag as he arrived home. They slid out of their hiding places to listen closely to their master.

"I want you to keep an extra close watch on this pretty little grandson of Solomon's." Pegasus instructed. "Little Yugi-boy may be the key to Solomon's undoing."

* * *

><p>The Millennium Puzzle was lost at sea during a storm a few months ago. Everyone survived, but a few items were forgotten on the sinking boat. The DiaDhanks and the Millennium Puzzle.<p>

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><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> Review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Alverna:** Got to the library again. Don't own The Little Mermaid or Yu-gi-oh.

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

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><p>"I'm dead." Yugi mumbled to himself as he hid his pouch before heading inside. "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I am <em>so<em> dead."

"You have that right." a new voice said, making Yugi gulp as he turned slowly to see his grandfather looking at him with a stern look. "You knew your fiancée was coming today."

Solomon had grey hair and the same amethyst eyes as Yugi, and a dark purple tail. He wore a purple sash over his shoulder and stomach, in his hand was a trident, which had strong magic and was used to keep the ocean in check.

"I'm sorry grandpa." Yugi hung his head.

"I just don't know what we're going to do with you, young man." Solomon shook his head as he gestured for Yugi to follow him into the throne room.

"Yugi!" a voice squealed and Yugi cringed.

It was Rebecca, the 14 years old granddaughter of Solomon's friend Arthur. She had blond hair that she insisted in wearing as pigtails, and a baby girl pink colored tail. Her seashells top a lighter shade of that pink. Rebecca was definitely not Yugi's fiancée, but she sure seemed to think she was.

(**A/N:** I know Rebecca is really 8 or 12, but it's my story and I need her this age.)

"Where were you?" Rebecca demanded. "My grandpa and I were worried."

"Rebecca that's enough." Arthur, Rebecca's grandfather, stopped her from saying anymore. "Please go to the library while Solomon and Yugi talk."

"Okay." Rebecca's shoulders slumped and she swam out the doors.

"I'm sorry Grandpa, I just forgot, I-" Yugi started to say, but stopped when Solomon held his hand up.

"Yugi, as a result of your careless behavior-" Solomon began.

"Careless and reckless behavior." Arthur added as Yugi cringed again.

"The girl's family was so offended -" Solomon continued.

"They left." Arthur interrupted again. "That's all."

"Yugi, you completely destroyed your chances of having a mate with this girl." Solomon sighed.

"But you said I could choose my own mate." Yugi said, sounding like a three year old. "My Yami."

Mates were classified into two sections in the merpeoples' lives. There were Yamis and Hikaris. The Yamis were the more bolder and braver day to day. They were the type who were most popular in schools and often found there Hikaris. The Hikaris were the quiet and shy type, but had amazing hidden strength to do what they set their minds to.

The merfolk were often engaged and married to others, and if there partner died they could seek and take another if they so desired. But when they find their other half, their Yami or Hikari, it was for life. If they were currently engaged or married after finding their life mate, they could cancel the wedding or spilt from their current partner. After their soul mate dies, another mate is never taken.

Yugi was a Hikari, and was looking for his Yami.

"I did." Solomon agreed. "But that was before I realized that you haven't shown interest in anyone. You are the only heir left Yugi. I want to see you mated and happy before I die."

"Then let me be happy with choosing my own mate." Yugi insisted.

"I wish I could Yugi." Grandpa sighed heavily. "But things have changed. I will give you a year to find your own mate before I choose for you."

"I can live with that." Yugi nodded his head.

"And where were you earlier that you forget that your now ex-fiancée was coming?" Arthur asked.

"Uh." Yugi looked sheepish. "Fleeing from a shark? By the sunken ships?"

"What?" Grandpa looked upset. "You went to those ships again?"

"Nothing… happened." Yugi tried to shrug it off.

"Except being chased by a shark." Arthur pointed out.

"Oh Yugi." Grandpa sighed. "How many times must we go through this? You could've been hurt."

"But I wasn't." Yugi protested.

"But one of these times you will be." Grandpa argued back. "Next thing I know you will be going to the surface and risk being seen by one of those barbarians. By… by one of those… _humans_!"

"Grandpa, they're not barbarians!" Yugi tried to reason.

"They're dangerous." Grandpa continued as he grabbed Yugi by the shoulders. "Do you think I want to see my only grandson snared by some fish-eater's hook?"

"I'm sixteen years old." Yugi jerked back out of his grandpa's grip. "I'm not a child anymore!"

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young man." Grandpa thundered. "As long as you live under my ocean, you'll obey my rules!"

"But if you would just listen-" Yugi tried to explain, but was cut off again.

"Not another word!" Solomon ranted. "And I am never, _never_ to hear of you going to those ships again, or to the surface. Is that clear?"

As Solomon stared at his grandson, he saw Yugi start to shake and tears come to his eyes. No rebuttal was given this time, and Yugi turned to flee out of the room. Soft crying was heard by both mermen in the room.

"Do you think I was too hard on him Arthur?" Solomon sighed, hating to hear or seeing Yugi cry.

"Definitely not." Arthur patted Solomon's shoulder. "Why, if Yugi was my grandson, I would do the same to him as I do Rebecca. And you know as well as I do how much she likes to explore sunken ships or the surface world."

"She doesn't." Solomon mumbled to himself before speaking up. "She would rather stay at home. Arthur, I have an idea."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Solomon put his plan into action. Well, he was trying to anyway.<p>

"I get to follow Yugi?" Rebecca asked again, trying to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Yes Rebecca." Solomon said. "I simply need to know what it is he is doing."

"You can count on me." Rebecca said before racing off down one of the corridors to search for Yugi, barely containing her excitement.

Then she saw Yugi. He was holding a pouch, and was talking with Malik and Joey, though she was too far away to hear anything that was being said. Then the three of them, after a quick glance back at the palace, turned and swam away.

"Hmm, what are those boys up to?" Rebecca asked herself as she followed.

A few miles away, Yugi pulled a rock away from a wall. Well it looked like a wall. Behind the rock, was a hole, which they swam threw. Rebecca followed as quickly as she could, barely making it in. After catching her breath, Rebecca swam to the end of a tunnel, and took a good look around. It was a cave, and it was filled with so many human things, but most seemed to have an Egyptian theme.

"Yugi," Joey looked at his friend who was examining his DiaDhank, "are you okay?"

"If only I could make him understand." Yugi sighed and looked up, placing his DiaDhank in a certain place, between a stone tablet of a brown ball of fur and the scroll that held info on the DiaDhank. "I just don't see things the way he does. I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things… could be bad."

Yugi began to swim around and gently touched his treasures. Rebecca made sure to hide back in the tunnel entrance so she wouldn't be seen by the secret love of her life. Yugi started to sing as stopped to look at everything.

"_Look at this stuff. Isn't it neat?  
>Wouldn't you think my collections complete?<br>Wouldn't you think I'm the boy,  
>The boy who has everything?<em>"

Everything in the grotto was something that Yugi, Joey, Malik, or another friend of theirs who was long missing, had collected. These were their treasures. Their precious treasure that told them about the human world and how the humans lived their lives.

"_Look at this trove, treasures untold.  
>How many wonders can one cavern hold?<br>Lookin' around here you'd think,  
>Sure, he's got everything.<em>"

Yugi picked up a tablet that Joey had found. On it was a dragon that looked black, and due to the stones coloring, with red eyes. On the tablet next to it, was of a blob of something. They actually knew the name of that one as Revival Jam, thanks to another scrolls accurate description.

"_I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty.  
>I've got whozits and whatzits galore.<em>  
><em>You want thingamabobs?<em> I got twenty."

Yugi set down the tablets and sighed. It was sad, and a tab bit stupid, but Yugi wasn't satisfied with collecting human objects anymore. He didn't know if Joey or Malik felt the same, but he actually wanted to be part of the human world.

"_But who cares? No big deal. I want more._

_I wanna be where the people are.  
>I wanna see, wanna see 'em dancing.<em>"

Yugi moved over to a statue that Joey insisted came from Greece, while Malik insisted it was from Rome. Yugi didn't care. He just liked the statue of a man and a woman together, looking like they were moving someplace.

"_Walkin' around on those,_  
><em>What do ya call 'em?<em> Oh, feet."

Yugi grinned as Malik flipped the end of his tail in front of his face. Grabbing the end of his tail, where the scales turn into fin, Yugi tickled his friend on one of the more sensitive areas of a merman's body. He let go and swam around in a circle, Joey and Malik following, and enjoying themselves as well.

"_Flipping your fins you don't get too far,  
>Legs are required for jumping, dancing,<br>Strolling along down a…_  
>What's that word again? <em>Street.<em>"

Yugi began to swim up, where some light filtered through a hole in the roof of the grotto.

"_Up where they walk, up where they run,  
>Up where they stay all day in the sun,<br>Wandering' free,_  
><em>Wish I could be,<br>Part of that world._"

Yugi longed to be a part of the human world. He wanted to run along the beach, dance, and just soak up the heat from the sun from above the water.

"_What would I give,  
>If I could live,<br>Outta these waters? _

_What would I pay,  
>To spend a day,<br>Warm on the sand?_"

Yugi stopped swimming and let himself sink to the bottom of the sandy floor where he stretched out, ignoring the fact that Malik and Joey were trying to bury each other.

"_Betcha on land  
>They understand<br>Bet they don't scold their sons and daughters._

_Young and living,  
>Sick of swimming,<br>Ready to stand._"

Shooting upward, Yugi grabbed another scroll and rolled through it before stopping at a picture of, what the description said was, a forest fire.

"_I'm ready to know what the people know  
>Ask 'em my questions,<br>And get some answers.  
>What's a fire and why does it.<br>What's the word? Burn?_"

Yugi set down the scroll and swam up to the hole that light was filtering through, reaching his hand threw, as if he wanted to touch the source of the light.

_When's it my turn?  
>Wouldn't I love,<br>Love to explore that shore above?_"

With a small sigh, Yugi began to sink back down to the ocean floor, the sunlight shining through the water to light up his face a touch. Malik and Joey watched with sad eyes.

"_Out of the sea.  
>Wish I could be,<br>Part of that world_."

The three friends remained looking up at the light. Each of them wanted to know what truly lay up in the surface world, without the restriction that King Solomon had placed on them. Rebecca, however, couldn't believe her ears. Her Yugi wanted to be on the surface? Actually _living_ there? With the spear-throwing, fish-eating _humans_?

"Yugi are you mad?" Rebecca yelled as she swam out of her hiding spot.

"Rebecca?!" Yugi gasped in shock at seeing the younger mermaid.

"How could you?" Rebecca questioned. "What is all this?"

"How did you find this place?" Malik demanded as he and Joey swam behind Yugi to give him support.

"I followed you under King Solomon's orders." Rebecca snapped back, used to the tone Malik had used. "Now if you would answer my question."

"It, err, it's just my… collection." Yugi muttered awkwardly.

"Oh. I see, your collection." Rebecca nodded before exploding. "_If you grandfather knew about this place, he'd_-"

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" Joey demanded, swimming over to tower over the younger mermaid, Malik right behind him with the same glare on his face.

"Oh, please Rebecca," Yugi begged as he swam in front of his friends. "He would never understand."

"Yugi." Rebecca simmered down and sighed. "You're under a lot of pressure down here in this grotto of yours. Come with me, I'll take you home and get you something warm to drink."

As Rebecca grabbed Yugi's wrist a shadow covered the light coming from above them. Something on the surface was casting a shadow.

"What do you suppose?" Yugi questioned.

Yugi pried his wrist from Rebecca's grip before swimming out of the grotto, ignoring Rebecca calling after him. He saw the bottom of a large ship, felt and heard a _boom_ and saw a spray of colorful lights. He swam up towards the surface even faster, not willing to let this opportunity slip by.

As his head broke the surface, Yugi gasped.

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna: <strong>Review please.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alverna:** Next Chapter. I'm glad people like this. I own nothing from The Little Mermaid or Yu-gi-oh.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

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><p>It was a wondrous sight. A large ship was sailing under the glow of a full moon, and from that ship came colorful flashes of blue, pink, green, yellow, red, and so many more shades of light that lit up in the sky in burst of color. Yugi giggled as he looked at the lights, amazed and mesmerized at the most magical thing he had ever seen. Joey, Malik, and Rebecca popped up next to him, and Rebecca glared at Yugi.<p>

"Yugi what are you-" Rebecca demanded and then gasped as another flash of light lit the area. "Jumping jellyfish!"

As the ship moved away, Yugi followed, his curiosity overwhelming him. He wanted to see the people who were making these pretty lights.

"Yugi, Yugi!" Rebecca pleaded as she watched the older teen swim away. "Please, come back!"

Ignoring Rebecca, Yugi swam up to the side of the ship, and climbed up the side of the ship, pulling himself up to a hole that was deck level so he could watch. There were so many humans. And some of them were holding small bits of fire to the end of a weird package. Seconds later, the package launched into the sky before bursting into color.

"I'm glad we went to China and made peace there before going to Greece." a man with red hair and blue eyes said.

"Me too Alister." agreed his brown hair and blue eyed partner as he turned to a third companion. "What do you think Rafael?"

"Ditto Valon." Rafael said, a man with blond hair and blue eyes.

But what Yugi saw next amazed him even more. A brown ball of fur with purple eyes was bopping around the ship. It looked like one of the creatures from his stone tablet down in his grotto. Behind it was a large, silver animal of some sort.

_'Didn't the pictures in an animal scroll say that was a wolf?_' Yugi thought to himself.

Then the wolf stopped and stared to sniff around. She smelled an unfamiliar scent that didn't belong on the ship, and it led her right to Yugi's hiding place. Seeing that the small male was not a threat, she licked him as Kuriboh, who had followed her, gave the boy a head nuzzle. A whistle caught their attention however.

"Thema, here girl, you to Kuriboh." called a baritone voice that made Yugi's heart jump.

Looking back threw his hole, he watched as the two raced to a man that was shorter than the rest. He had tri-colored hair with crimson tips, blond bangs, and three lightning bolt streaks the same color. His skin was tan and his muscles rippled as he played with his two friends.

"Hey, come on, you two." the man cheered as they played with him. "What you doing, huh Thema? Good girl."

And Yugi instantly fell in love with him.

"What a show." Malik whispered next to Yugi.

"Malik!" Yugi jumped. "Why are you up here?"

"Same reason as you." Malik answered. "Joey would be up here to, but he's a little busy keeping Rebecca from screeching our… names."

Malik had stopped talking and was looking on to the deck. When Yugi followed his line of sight, he saw a mob of spiky, wild, white-blond haired and lavender colored eyes. The man wore a tan tunic. The sleeves came to his elbows, the back dropped to his ankles, and was held in place by a black belt. On top, he wore a dark purple robe, so dark it was almost black, that was sleeveless and fell to mid-calf. Elaborate sandals decked his feet, and gold cuffs were on his wrist.

"Malik." Yugi touched his friend's shoulder.

"He's my Yami." Malik mumbled in a love struck tone.

"I know." Yugi said. "See the one who looks like me, next to the wolf and ball of brown fur, okay under them? He's my Yami."

"Who knew all we had to do was go to the surface to find them." Malik mused.

"No kidding." Yugi agreed.

"Well that should keep her busy." Joey said as he popped up below the two merboys.

"What's going to keep Rebecca busy?" Yugi asked, slightly nervous about what Joey did.

"You're better off not knowing." Joey replied.

"Silence! Silence!" a new man was speaking.

He was wearing a creamy under tunic that went down to his ankles, with a blue outer tunic on top of that. Golden arm cuffs ran from his wrist to his elbows, while a golden belt circled his waist. Elegant sandals covered his feet. A priest hat covered his hair. A rod was in a loop on his belt. And Joey felt like his head was in the clouds.

"It is now my honor and privilege to present our esteemed Prince Atemu with a very special, very large birthday present." the man continued once the din had died down.

"Ah, Seto." Atemu spoke, and Yugi felt his heart give a great leap. "You grump, you shouldn't have."

"I know." Seto growled, and Joey felt his breath leave him. "Happy birthday, Atemu."

A cloth was pulled off of a large, thing, revealing it to be a statue of the prince. The statue had the prince poising in a very serious expression, like a ruler ready to conquer.

Atemu felt absolutely ridiculous looking at the statue, quite a tacky gift. Thema agreed by growling, while Kuriboh hid it eyes in its hands with a moan.

"Gee, Seto." Atemu rubbed the back of his neck as he took a closer look. "It's… it's really something."

"It looks even worse up close." Bakura commented, getting an elbow from Ryou for his words.

"Yes," Seto nodded. "Mahad and I had it commissioned."

"Of course, we had hoped it would be a wedding present." Mahad added.

"Come on you two, don't start." Atemu laughed. "Look, you're not still sore because I didn't fall for the prince or princess of China or Greece, are you?"

"Atemu, it isn't us alone." Mahad came up behind him as they walked towards the railing of the ship together, causing the three merteens to duck down. "All of Egypt wants to see you happily settled down with the right person."

"Well that person is out there somewhere." Atemu looked out over the horizon. "I just… I just haven't found that one yet."

"Well, perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough." Seto teased as he came to Atemu's other side.

"Believe me, when I find my one I'll know… without a doubt." Atemu grew determined. "It'll just - bam! - hit me. Like lightning."

With the words right out of his mouth, lightning flashed and thunder rolled as the sky grew dark. Bolts of lightning continued to light up the sky, raindrops began to fall, and the ocean began to swell. The boat rocked, and the rapidly increasing wind made object fly about.

"Storm coming!" Dartz shouted above the growing gale from his position at the wheel of the ship. "Stand fast! Secure the rigging!"

As the storm hit, everyone sprang into action, working to keep the ship afloat. Everyone tugged on ropes and fastened as many sails as they could as the ship bobbed up and down on the now extremely violent sea.

The boat violently rocked from side to side, Yugi, Malik, and Joey were tossed off. They dove into the rough sea and swam under the ship, wondering what had annoyed King Solomon _this_ time. As they resurfaced, a bolt of lightning stuck an unfurled sail and set it on fire. The three gasped and swam back a few tail flicks. They never knew that flames could cause so much heat.

"Look out!" Atemu shouted as some large rocks loomed up out of the water ahead.

But it was too late. The ship crashed, throwing nearly everyone overboard. Those who weren't launched the life boats and got those who had been thrown into the ocean. No one noticed the statue of Atemu sink beneath the waves, but at that point, they were thankful everyone was alright. Until they heard Thema starting to howl. Everyone turned to see the wolf trapped by the flames.

"Thema!" Atemu gasped.

Atemu jumped out of the lifeboat and swam back to the burning ship to get his faithful friend. His deceased mother had given Thema to him as a puppy five years ago. Queen Thema had died shortly after, before he had a chance to name his playful companion. So he named the silver wolf pup Thema, after his mother.

Climbing back onto the ship, Atemu dodged flame and falling pieces of wood. He couldn't quite reach his friend due to the flames that separated the upper deck from the lower deck, but got as close as he could so he knew that Thema would be able to see and hear him.

"Jump Thema!" Atemu called. "Come on girl, jump!"

Thema focused on Atemu's voice, and jumped. She landed next to her master and friend, and both of them quickly ran to the side of the ship. Hearing a crack, Atemu turned to see part of the mast falling strait towards them.

"_Atemu_!" Seto shouted from the boat.

Everyone watched as Atemu pick up Thema and threw her over the edge before getting hit by the broken piece of mast and knocked down onto the deck. But no one could go back to get their prince, the fire had already spread to the point where the boat was rapidly sinking. Before anyone could grab the oars, the ship disappeared under the oceans waves completely.

Yugi gasped and dove under the water, searching, and praying he wasn't too late. Spotting his Yami floating amongst some of the wreckage, Yugi grabbed him and pulled him towards the surface. A fear rose in Yugi, a fear that he was too late and Atemu had drowned. Taking a deep breath, Yugi pressed his lips over Atemu's, pried his mouth open with his tongue, and breathed for him.

As soon as their heads broke the surface, Yugi wrapped his arms around Atemu's chest and squeezed, forcing some water out of his lungs. But knowing he wouldn't be able to hold the two of them up forever, Yugi started towards the shore, Malik and Joey following and helping however they could since they saw their own Yamis' safe in the lifeboats.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the storm had passed. A few rays of sun peeked through a few remaining gray clouds in the sky. The sea was calm as they surf lapped the shore, and two figures with spiky tri-colored hair could be seen lying next to each other on a beach. The difference between them was one had a tail and the other had legs. In the shallows water, two blonds were sitting and watching.<p>

"Is he… dead?" Yugi asked hesitantly, not tearing his eyes away.

"It's hard to say." Malik replied.

"How do you tell it a human is alive again?" Joey asked. "Listen for a heartbeat somewhere, I got that part, but where?"

"No, look!" Yugi sat up and placed his hand on Atemu's chest, which was moving up and down. "He's breathing. He's so, beautiful."

Yugi moved a strand of blond hair that was covering his Yami's face, which was breath-takingly beautiful and peaceful as he slept. As Yugi watched, he began to sing softly.

"_What would I give,  
>To live where you are?<br>What would I pay,  
>To stay here beside you?<br>What would I do to see you,  
>Smiling at me?<em>"

At that point, Rebecca washed up on shore, finally getting free from whatever Joey did the night before. Her jaw dropped at seeing Yugi singing to a human. Before she could scream in horror, Joey and Malik tackled her back into the ocean's deep water.

Again.

"_Wherever we'd walk, wherever we'd run,  
>If we could stay all day in the sun<em>."

At that point, the sunlight broke through the clouds and down on to Yugi, who gently ran his fingers through Atemu's hair as he began to stir. Gathering his energy, Atemu managed to open his eyes only a fraction to see who was singing. Atemu saw Yugi, but not fully. The ray of sun behind him shadowed most of Yugi's face, but there was enough for Atemu to realize he was male. But what held in Atemu's mind was that Yugi's eyes were the most beautiful shade of amethyst he had ever seen.

"_Just you and me,  
>And I could be,<br>Part of your world_."

At the sound of barking, Yugi looked up. He didn't see anything or anyone, but knew that something was close to him and his Yami. He had to leave, but not before Yugi leaned back over Atemu with a solemn promise.

"I will return to you, my Yami." Yugi vowed.

And with a small kiss on Atemu's lips, Yugi returned to the ocean. Thema and Kuriboh came bounding towards their master, and showered him with silver wolfy kisses and brown ball of floating fur nuzzles. Mahad, Seto, Marik, and Bakura rounded a large rock, desperately searching for their friend.

"Atemu!" Bakura called, not seeing the prince lying on the shore.

"Oh, Atemu." Seto sighed in relief as he ran forward to pull Thema and Kuriboh off of his cousin. "You really delight in seeing if you can give me a heart attack, don't you?"

Atemu was helped onto his feet by his friends, a tad bit distracted. He stumbled towards the sea, almost in a trance, and was still very wobbly and confused.

"A boy… rescued me…" Atemu said, looking around as he tried to find his rescuer. "He was… singing. The most beautiful voice. He called me his Yami."

As Atemu tried to recall his crazy experience, his legs gave out. The strain of being knocked over by a falling piece of ship mast and practically drowning re-caught up with him.

"Ah Atemu," Mahad said as he came and supported his prince and friend, Seto supporting his other side. "I think you've swallowed a bit too much seawater. Off we go."

"Come on, Thema." Marik whined.

The wolf had seen Yugi swim away, diving in and out of the waves, and had decided to bring him back to shore so her master could meet him. But at hearing Marik she looked back and saw that her master leaving. So she got out and purposely shook off where she could get Marik and Bakura wet at the same time, much to their displeasure and Kuriboh's giggling delight.

Out on a rock in a nearby tide pool away from the shore, Yugi watched the events that transpired without being seen. He was happy that his Yami was rescued by some friends that he had, he would be taken care of. Rebecca, Joey, and Malik were there as well, and Rebecca was flat out mad at everything that had happened.

"We've just got to forget this whole thing ever happened." Rebecca said. "There was no ship, no prince, and no forbidden trip to the surface."

"Sorry Rebecca." Joey shook his head. "No can do."

"Yeah." Malik agreed. "It's not happening."

"No!" Rebecca argued stubbornly. "You have to forget."

As the three of them bickered, Yugi ignored them as he continued to watch Atemu being led to the safety of food and shelter. He climbed on top of the rock and sang as another song came to his lips, a promise to himself and his Yami.

"_I don't know when, I don't know how,  
>But I know something's starting right now.<br>Watch and you'll see,  
>Someday I'll be,<br>Part of your world_."

A wave splashed the base of the rock and showered Yugi in its spray. He didn't notice as he continued to watch Atemu hobble away with help. In his heart, Yugi knew that he and Atemu would be together one day, as part of each other's worlds.

Yugi also didn't know that he was being examined by a couple of unagi. Para and Dox were lurking nearby, under orders from Pegasus.

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> Please Review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alverna: **Okay, this is a double update, chapters four and five. I also made an edit to chapter 3. When Atemu wakes up, he only sees Yugi's eyes, not his hair. I don't own Yu-gi-oh or The Little Mermaid.

**10-14-2013:** There is a noticeable update/edit in this chapter, the song 'Under the Sea' has more details.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

* * *

><p>"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no." Pegasus laughed as he watched the image of Yugi made by Para and Dox. "I can't stand it. This is way too easy. The child is in love with a human. And not just any human, a <em>prince<em>! His grandpa will _love_ that."

Pegasus doubled over laughing. His job seemed to be way to easy, but all of the merfolk who came near him made it that way. Pegasus peered down a dark hallway that lead to the entryway of his 'home', and grinned at what he saw there.

"King Solomon's headstrong, lovesick grandson would make a charming addition to my little collection." Pegasus noted with a grin.

Evil laughter rang out as many stone tablets and paper cards of merpeople were seen on the walls. The occasional sliver of soul faintly reached out of a cracked stone or torn card from time to time. All of them had once turned to Pegasus for one thing or another, and all of them had paid the price.

* * *

><p>Back in the kingdom, Joey was at his home taking care of his drunken father. But today it wasn't so bad. Humming a tune softly under his breath, Joey cleaned the dishes that had been left since yesterday morning.<p>

"What's gotten into you?" Joey's dad demanded in one of his more sober moments.

"Nothing." Joey replied softly, his thoughts never straying from a blue eyed human.

* * *

><p>At Malik's house, Malik had already completed all of his chores, and had fallen fast asleep on his bed.<p>

"He shouldn't be asleep." Ishizu, his sister, complained to their older adopted brother.

"Maybe he was up late his Yugi and Joey." Odion suggested. "You know how those three get when they get their hands on sugar."

"I know." Ishizu shudder remembering the last time Malik had gotten some sugar.

"At least his chores are done." Odion sighed.

"Yami." Malik's voice floated softly out of his bedroom.

Odion and Ishizu looked at each other, then swam to Malik's room.

"Yami." Malik sighed again as he slept.

Ishizu and Odion looked at each other. Had Malik really found his Yami?

* * *

><p>"Yugi dear, time to come out." Mai, a servant back at the palace, was knocking on Yugi's door. "You've been in there all morning."<p>

Mai had long blond hair, purple eyes, and a white tail with purple tips. She wore a white tube top with a purple sleeveless jacket over it, and some elbow length, fingerless gauntlets.

Yugi opened the door and swam past, humming to himself. He stopped by a mirror to run his fingers through his hair in an attempt to straighten it out, and picked a flower that was sitting in a nearby planter. Yugi inhaled the scent of the undersea plant, oblivious to everything around him, before swimming away again.

"What is with him lately?" Tea, another servant, asked Mai, who shrugged response.

Tea had shoulder length brown hair, blue eyes, and a tail that was a slightly lighter blue color than her eyes. Her outfit was a sleeveless yellow top and a necklace that said 'Spirited'.

"Oh." Yugi giggled as he bumped into his grandfather, and gave him the flower. "Morning Grandpa."

"Morning Yugi." Solomon said.

But Yugi didn't hear a word as he swam down the corridor singing to himself. Mai, Tea, and Solomon watched the young merman leave as he spun down the hall in a dance before rounding the corner.

"Oh, he's got it bad." Tea said as she connected the dots.

"What?" Solomon asked, completely oblivious. "What has he got?"

"Isn't it obvious, your majesty?" Mai asked. "Little Yugi is in love. He's probably found his Yami."

"Yugi?" Solomon asked as he quizzically looked at the flower in his hand and smiled. "In love?"

* * *

><p>A little while later, Rebecca did a mermaid's version of pacing, by swimming in a small circle. She was just about panicking, and was trying to come up with an idea of what to do if King Solomon ever found out about Yugi's latest trip to the surface and the events that had transpired afterwards.<p>

"Okay, so far so good." Rebecca muttered to herself as she swam. "I don't think the king knows. But it will not be easy keeping something like this a secret for long."

Rebecca glanced over at Yugi again for the umpteenth time in 15 minutes. He had put a flower in his hair, which really concerned her because Yugi wasn't one to do very feminine things. This action meant that Yugi had really fallen for this human. Hard. His current focus was not on Rebecca at all, but rather the flower in front of him which he was picking petals off of.

"He loves me… he loves me not…" Yugi gasped as he saw only one petal remaining, burst into a fit of giggles as he rolled onto his back and held the petal close to his heart. "He loves me! I knew it!"

"Yugi, stop talking crazy." Rebecca snapped in disgust as she swam up next to him.

"But I've got to see him again Rebecca." Yugi said as he recovered from his giggling fit and sat up. "Tonight! Malik found out where he lives. He followed them after the rescue up the shoreline and a river to a palace."

"Yugi… please." Rebecca practically begged as Yugi began to swim away, not noticing he was towing her as well. "Will you get your head out of the clouds and back in the water where it belongs?"

"I'll swim up to his palace." Yugi said, thinking out loud and moving so fast that Rebecca lost her grip. "Then I'll splash around to get his attention, and then -"

"Down _here_ is your home!" Rebecca yelled and interrupted the daydreaming merman by swimming in front of him, her hands held up to stop him. "Yugi, listen to me. The human world… it's a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there."

Rebecca directed Yugi back to the rock he had been sitting on. He sat down, but quickly zoned out again as this thoughts returned to Atemu. They often did lately.

"_The seaweed is always greener  
>In somebody else's lake.<br>You dream about going up there  
>But that is a big mistake.<em>

_Just look at the world around you_  
><em>Right here on the ocean floor.<em>  
><em>Such wonderful things surround you<em>  
><em>What more is you lookin' for<em>?"

As Rebecca sang, more of the ocean's creatures joined in. They were interested in the hip-hop beat, and quickly joined in after catching on to the rhythm.

"_Under the sea,_  
><em>Under the sea,<em>  
><em>Darling it's better<br>Down where it's wetter  
>Take it from me.<em>

_Up on the shore they work all day  
>Out in the sun they slave away,<em>  
><em>While we devoting<em>  
><em>Full time to floating<br>Under the sea_."

Rebecca laughed as a lobster started to play some seashells like a xylophone. This was the fun way to get her point across to Yugi, who seemed to listen better when a song was being sung, but she didn't notice his distracted look.

"_Down here all the fish is happy  
>As off through the waves they roll.<em>  
><em>The fish on the land ain't happy<br>They sad 'cause they in their bowl_."

Yugi paused and watched as a large fish in a bubble floated past. That was one thing you didn't see every day, even in the ocean. He jerked back as Rebecca got in his face before swimming next to the bubble to pop it.

"_But fish in the bowl is lucky  
>They in for a worser fate.<em>  
><em>One day when the boss get hungry<em>…"

"_Guess who's gonna' be on the plate_." the fish in the bubble sang after it was popped and it landed on a plate of sea fruits.

"_Under the sea,  
>Under the sea,<br>Nobody beat us  
>Fry us and eat us<br>In fricassee._"

Yugi didn't really pay attention to any of Rebecca's ramblings about how the ocean life was better than the life on land. All he cared about was that he had found his Yami and wanted to be with him. Of course, some playful seahorses did manage to provoke some giggles from him.

"_We what the land folks loves to cook,  
>Under the sea we off the hook.<br>We got no troubles,  
>Life is the bubbles.<em>

_Under the sea (Under the sea),_  
><em>Under the sea (Under the sea),<em>  
><em>Since life is sweet here,<br>We got the beat here,  
>Naturally (Naturally-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee).<em>"

More ocean animals joined the rapidly growing orchestra that fell under Rebecca's instructions, but she wasn't a musical prodigy for nothing. Sea creatures that were even natural enemies got along and played instruments side by side.

"_Even the sturgeon and the ray,  
>They get the urge and start to play.<br>We got the spirit,  
>You got to hear it,<br>Under the sea._"

As Rebecca kept singing, she pointed out each of the sea animals that played instruments or sang certain songs. Each did their own thing wonderfully.

"_The newt plays the flute,  
>The carp play the harp,<br>The plaice play the bass,  
>And they sounding' sharp.<br>The bass play the brass,  
>The chub play the tub,<br>The fluke is the duke of soul_."

Yeah.

"_The ray he can play,  
>The lings on the strings,<br>The trout rockin' out,  
>The blackfish she sings.<br>The smelt and the sprat,  
>They know where it's at,<br>And oh that blowfish blow_."

As the ocean floor danced and music played, Joey and Malik came upon the scene, having finished chores and napped. They had dropped by the grotto to see if Yugi was there, but they had found something else. So they went looking for their shorter friend. Finding him daydreaming on a rock, they came up to him, whispered in his ear, and they all swam off together. No on even noticed they had left, they were too caught up in the song.

"_Under the sea  
>Under the sea<br>When the sardine  
>Begin the beguine<br>It's music to me  
>What do they got? A lot of sand<br>We got a hot crustacean band_

_Each little clam here  
>Know how to jam here <em>  
><em>Under the sea <em>

_Each little slug here  
>Cutting' a rug here<br>Under the sea _

_Each little snail here  
>Know how to wail here<br>That's why it's hotter  
>Under the water<em>

_Ya we in luck here  
>Down in the muck here<br>Under the sea_."

As every fish and mollusks posed, they discovered that Yugi had left.

"Yugi?" Rebecca asked before sighing in dejection as everyone else left. "Oh… somebody's got to nail that guy's fins to the floor."

"Rebecca!" Arthur's voice had Rebecca turning to see that her grandfather swimming towards her. "Rebecca, I've been looking all over for you. King Solomon would like to see you."

"He does?" Rebecca asked nervously.

"He just wants an update on Yugi." Arthur replied soothingly. "And he told me he also has a few questions for you."

_'Oh no!_' Rebecca thought. _'He knows!_'

* * *

><p>Back in palace throne room, Solomon was looking at flower Yugi had given him that morning. He chuckled at the idea of his grandson being in love.<p>

"Let's see, now…" Solomon thought out loud. "Oh, who could the lucky merfolk be?"

"I have found my granddaughter my king." Arthur said from the doorway, Rebecca shifting nervously behind him.

"Come in, Arthur." Solomon smiled. "You to Rebecca."

'_I mustn't overreact. I must remain calm._' Rebecca thought a pep talk as she followed her grandpa. "Yes, your Majesty?"

"There is nothing to be afraid of Rebecca." Solomon said gently, seeing that she was nervous. "I just want an update on how Yugi is doing."

"He's doing okay." Rebecca said slowly. "A little spacey lately, but he's okay."

"Now Rebecca, I'm mildly concerned about Yugi." Solomon admitted as he got off of his throne and swimming towards a window. "Have you noticed if he's been acting peculiar lately?"

"Peculiar?" Rebecca asked innocently. "You mean daydreaming and humming softly under his breath, sort of peculiar?"

"There is that." Solomon nodded before sighing. "Rebecca…"

"Hmmm?" Rebecca acknowledged, risking a look at the back of her ruler.

"I do believe you are keeping something from me." Solomon said ominously.

"Keeping… something?" Rebecca stuttered.

"About Yugi?" Solomon turned away from the window to face the nervous young mermaid. "Being in love, perhaps?"

"I tried to stop him, sir." Rebecca broke down into tears, causing her grandfather to hold her as she wept. "He wouldn't listen."

"What did my grandson do?" Solomon said gently, but seriously.

Very seriously.

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> Yeah, I know. The song sucked. Review?

****10-14-2013:** **There is a noticeable update/edit in this chapter, the song 'Under the Sea' has more details.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alverna:** Double chapter update. Chapters 4 and 5. If you jumped to this one, go back. I don't own Yu-gi-oh or The Little Mermaid.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

* * *

><p>Joey and Malik had brought Yugi back to his secret grotto. They hadn't told him a thing about why they were there, and still wouldn't as they pulled back the stone that covered the entrance and swam inside the tunnel. Once inside, Yugi's eyes were covered by a seaweed blindfold to keep him from seeing anything at all.<p>

"Guys, why can't you just tell me what this is all about?" Yugi asked as Malik and Joey dragged him into the grotto tunnel.

"You'll see." Joey grinned as he pulled his friend along.

"It's a surprise." Malik added as took the blindfold off of Yugi's eyes.

"Oh, Joey, Malik." Yugi gasped.

Yugi had frozen in surprise, his jaw dropping. Right in the middle of the floor, was the stone statue that Prince Atemu had been given on his birthday.

"Joey, Malik, you two you're the best!" Yugi giggled as he hugged his friends and swam over to the sculpture. "It looks just like him. It even has his eyes. 'Why Atemu… run away with you? This is all so, so sudden'."

Yugi burst into giggles as he hugged himself and spun in a circle. When he stopped, Yugi saw a pair of angry eyes in the shadows. He gasped in terror as he realized that his grandfather had somehow found his secret treasure spot.

"Grandpa!" Yugi exclaimed.

Malik and Joey gasped, and quickly hid themselves in another tunnel were they could safely watch. As the scene unfolded, they saw Rebecca and her grandfather behind the Sea King, and knew at once that Rebecca had told.

"I consider myself a reasonable merman." Solomon said angrily as he swam forward. "I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed."

"But Grandpa, I-" Yugi tried interrupting.

"Is it true?" Solomon asked as he bore down angrily on his grandson while feeling concerned that Yugi didn't understand how dangerous humans were despite losing his parents because of them. "You rescued a human from drowning?"

"I had to!" Yugi tried to explain.

"Contact between the human world and the mer-world is strictly forbidden." Solomon preached in a thunderous voice. "Yugi, you know that! The entire kingdom knows that!"

"But he would have died!" Yugi tried to defend the human who was his Yami while shielding the statue with his body.

"One less human to worry about!" Solomon cut off Yugi in his anger.

"You don't even know him." Yugi said upset.

"Know him?" Solomon's glare grew even more intense as he continued, his voice and temper rising with every word. "I don't have to know him. They're all the same. Spineless, savage, harpooning, fish-eaters, incapable of any feelings-"

"Grandpa, I love him!" Yugi shouted, finally telling what he wanted. "He's my Yami!"

Everyone in the grotto gasped. Joey and Malik that Yugi had made the declaration to his grandfather, Arthur and Rebecca gasped in horror at the proclamation of love for a human, and Solomon in complete anger.

"No." Solomon said in stunned horror and then recovered. "Have you lost your senses completely? He's a human, you're a merman!"

"I don't care." Yugi said stubbornly as he held onto the statue of the man he loved.

"So help me Yugi, I am going to get through to you." Solomon growled as his trident started to glow. "And if this is the only way, so be it."

Solomon had lost his wife, his daughter, and his son-in-law years ago to a stormy shipwreck that had been caused by humans sailing to close to a nearby reef. He was not going to lose his grandson, who believed him Yami was a human, to them as well. Solomon pointed his trident all around the grotto, sending blasts of magical energy in all directions, and destroying everything in there.

"Grandpa… no!" Yugi shouted as all of his artifacts started to get blasted into pieces. "No, please! Grandpa, stop!"

Yugi swam out from behind the statue to stop his grandfather from destroying anything else. But as he grabbed his grandfather's arm, Yugi realized his mistake. Having left his shelter, he had exposed the statue of Atemu. There was nothing to stop it from being destroyed.

"Grandpa!" Yugi cried out as the strongest bolt of magic sailed directly towards the statue, shattering it. "NOOOOOO!"

Looking at the spot where the statue of his Yami once was, Yugi collapsed there and began crying. Solomon turned to leave, ashamed that he had made his grandson cry, but knew that he had to get his point across. No more contact with the human world. Arthur followed and Rebecca swam towards her crying friend.

"Yugi, I… I…" Rebecca started to talk as she laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Just go away!" Yugi shouted as he slapped her hand away, tears streaming down his face.

"But-" Rebecca protested.

"Leave." Joey said firmly as he took her upper arm.

"Now." Malik finished as he grabbed her other arm.

The two escorted her out, leaving Yugi to cry in peace. Once outside, Joey and Malik glared at her.

"Why did you tell?" Joey demanded.

"It's not health for him to be swooning over a human." Rebecca snapped. "He needs to pick a mermaid who can care for him and listen to him, and provide him with children -"

"Someone like you?" Joey summed up, effectively shutting her up.

"Rebecca, every merchild learns at a very young age that when they first see their Yami or Hikari, they have a special connection." Malik seethed as he tried to keep himself from exploding. "Yugi never felt that connection with you, and yet you pursued him anyway."

"But…" Rebecca tried to defend herself, but stopped as Yugi passed by.

Yugi had his bag on him. In it was the DiaDhank and golden box he had found on the ship. Yugi had been extremely grateful when he found that the two items had only been knocked to the ground and not destroyed. With him were two bald men with eel tails, unagi.

"Yugi, where are you going?" Rebecca asked as she darted in front of Yugi, glancing warily at the two bald unagi. "Yugi, what are you doing here with this riff-raff?"

"We are not riff-raft as you say." said bald guy one on Yugi's right.

"We are servants, who only our master we obey." said bald guy two on Yugi's left.

"Para is my name, young lady so fair." Para, the one on Yugi's right, said.

"Dox is mine, so there is no need to glare." Dox, the other on Yugi's right, said.

"That was weird." Joey said.

"Indeed." Malik agreed.

"I'm going to see Pegasus." Yugi said flatly as he pushed Rebecca out of his way and began to swim even faster.

"What?" Joey, Malik, and Rebecca yelped.

"Yugi no!" Rebecca yelled as she grabbed his arm. "He's a demon, a monster!"

"Why don't you go tell my grandpa?" Yugi snapped as he wrenched his arm out of her grip. "You're good at that."

"But Yugi, why?" Malik came up by him as Joey grabbed the protesting Rebecca.

"How else will I get to be with Atemu?" Yugi asked solemnly.

"Well, we're not stopping you." Joey said as he covered Rebecca's mouth with a seaweed gag. "But we are coming with you."

"But…" Yugi was speechless.

"No buts." Malik replied firmly. "If something does happen to you and you need our help, we're going to be there."

"Okay." Yugi nodded.

"Dumb question." Joey said.

"And that is?" Malik asked.

"What do we do with her?" Joey tilted his head to the still squirming Rebecca.

"Guess we'll bring her with so she doesn't blab." Malik said with a sigh.

"Then let's go." Yugi said firmly as he turned to follow Para and Dox.

* * *

><p>Pegasus' home was dark, desolate, and flat out creepy. A large glowing skull shaped cavern was the entrance, and they had to swim through a dark tunnel to get inside. Leaving Rebecca tied to the entrance with some seaweed rope, Yugi, Malik, Joey, Para, and Dox passed by the stone tablets and paper cards that held the souls of many merfolk inside them.<p>

"That was creepy." Malik said.

"You can say that again." Joey agreed.

"Para and Dox disappeared." Yugi noted. "Now where do we go?"

"This way." a new voice called from the end of the tunnel. "You can come in children. We mustn't lurk in doorways. It's rude. One _might_ question your upbringing."

As they reached the end of the tunnel, they all paused. Yugi took a deep breath and pushed aside the dangling black seaweed and swam into the room. Joey and Malik quickly followed. Inside was a Tako, a half man half octopus, with silver hair, a left golden eye, and was drinking some wine.

"I see there are some extra guests." Pegasus said.

"We're just moral support." Malik quickly said. "Just in case if something happens and Yugi needs some help."

"I see." Pegasus took another sip of wine.

"Is it okay if we leave Rebecca tied at the entrance?" Joey asked.

"I would rather see her squirm as Yugi-boy and I talk." Pegasus replied. "But I will have her gagged."

"Whew." Yugi, Joey, and Malik breathed a sigh of relief.

"Para, Dox, please escort the young lady tied up front back, and make sure she is gagged." Pegasus turned his attention to Yugi as Para and Dox left. "Now then, to business Yugi-boy. You're here because you have a thing for this human, this prince fellow. Not that I blame you. He is quite a catch, isn't he?"

Yugi could stop the smile or the nod he gave. He fully agreed with that statement.

"Well Yugi-boy, the solution to your problem is very simple." Pegasus continued as he placed his wine on the table beside him. "The only way to get what you want… is to become a human yourself."

"But can you _do_ that?" Yugi asked as he swam forward a few inches.

"My dear little Yugi-boy, that's what I do." Pegasus got off of his chair, glided up next to Yugi, and escorted him into another room. "It's what I live for. To help the unfortunate merfolk… like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to. Now, I admit that in the past I've been nasty and was very much indeed a warlock."

"Really?" Malik blurted.

"Yes." Pegasus glanced up. "Where you taught otherwise?"

"Just that you went insane." Joey replied. "But nothing about magic."

"Well, it's true about the magic." Pegasus nodded. "But insane? No. Anyways, nowadays, I've mended all my ways, seen the light and made a switch. As for my magic, I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely, and depressed."

"Okay then." Joey nodded. "How?"

"Well, there was one mermaid who was longing to be thinner, and a merman who wanted to get the girl." Pegasus spoke.

His golden eye glimmered and showed a chubby mermaid and a merman who looked like a twig. Magic swirled around the two of them, and the mermaid became thin while the merman became a drop dead hunk.

"You see?" Pegasus asked.

"Cool." Malik blurted.

"But what happened to them?" Yugi asked.

"Now it's happened more than once, but someone couldn't pay the arranged price." Pegasus sighed, "And I'm afraid I have to take what I can get. And that is their souls."

"Their souls?" Joey's mouth dropped.

"Unfortunately." Pegasus nodded, his eyes closed, and then turned to Yugi again. "Alright, here's the deal. I will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got that? Three days."

"Yes." Yugi nodded.

"Okay, now listen carefully Yugi-boy. This is the important part." Pegasus's gold eye glowed again to show images of what he spoke about. "Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get that prince of yours to fall in love with you. That is, he's got to kiss you. But not just any kiss. The kiss of true love.

"If he does kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you'll remain human. Permanently. But if he doesn't, you turn back into a merman, and… your soul belongs to me."

"No Yugi!" Rebecca screamed.

How Rebecca's gag got undone, or when she had even gotten there, no one knew. However, two powerful electrical shocks from Para and Dox had her quiet and lying still on the floor less than two seconds later.

"You can untie her." Pegasus said. "She'll be dazed long enough for us to finish. Now Yugi-boy, have we got a deal?"

"If I become human, I'll never be with my grandfather or my friends again." Yugi thought out loud.

"That's right." Pegasus agreed. "But you'll have your Yami. Life's full of tough choices, isn't? Oh - and there is one more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment. You can't get something for nothing, you know."

"But I don't have any-" Yugi spoke, but Pegasus cut him off with a tentacle to the mouth.

"I'm not asking much." Pegasus waved his hand and came up next to Yugi again. "Just a token, really, a trifle. You'll never even miss it. What I want from you is… your voice."

"My voice?" Yugi asked, confused.

"His voice?" Malik echoed.

"Why his voice?" Joey asked.

"It is said to be the most beautiful voice in the sea, besides his mothers." Pegasus explained. "But thanks to that oil spill, but that's beside the point. I want your voice."

"My voice." Yugi repeated, making sure he understood the odd request.

"You've got it Yugi-boy." Pegasus nodded. "No more talking, singing, zip."

"But without my voice, how will I tell Atemu who I am?" Yugi protested.

Pegasus hid his grin. He knew that Prince Atemu had become enamored by Yugi's voice when the merman had saved him. So this plan was specially made for it to be near impossible for Yugi to win Atemu's love.

"You'll have your looks, your pretty face." Pegasus replied. "You look so much like an angel. Now Yugi-boy, I hate to rush you, but you need to make your choice."

"So soon?" Yugi gasped.

"I'm very busy and haven't got all day." Pegasus said as he bustled about the room gathering some ingredients need to take Yugi's voice and give him legs. "However, if you want to cross a bridge, you've got to pay the toll."

"Huh?" Malik asked, looking confused.

"It's a human expression." Pegasus explained as he pulled a scroll out of nowhere with magic. "He needs to pay to get what he wants. Go ahead and sign the scroll Yugi-boy."

Yugi bit his lip as a pen appeared in front of the contract that stated the deal and terms of payment. He glanced at Joey, Malik, and Rebecca, who was shaking her head no as fast as she could. Joey and Malik nodded, their eyes saying they would support him no matter what decision he made.

As Yugi's thoughts landed on Atemu, on his Yami, everything slowed down for a moment or three. Yugi wanted to be with Atemu more than anything in the world, no matter how questionable the circumstances that led up to them meeting were. Yugi made up his mind. Grabbing the pen, he signed the magical contract.

Pegasus grinned as one hand closed around the contract, making it disappear. He now had a valid signed contract and believed that there was no way that Yugi could make Atemu fall in love with him in just three days without his voice. There was no way Yugi could uphold his end of the bargain, and once the little merman was under his command, King Solomon would come swimming to his rescue. Then Pegasus would have his greatest enemy as putty in his hands.

"Now Yugi-boy, I need you to drink this potion." Pegasus said as he pushed a cup into Yugi's hand. "It will first remove your voice, and then change you into a human. But you will need to get to the surface pronto. And the three days will start tomorrow, so tomorrow is day one."

"Okay." Yugi said, took a deep breath, and gulped down the concoction in one swallow.

Yugi's whole body convulsed as the effects took place. A hot burning pain ripped at his throat, making him scream in agony before his voice disappeared. It took form as a ball of light, and entered into a card Pegasus was holding up. A picture of Yugi appeared on the card, the throat glowing.

A sudden, stabbing pain ripped at Yugi's legs, much worse than the one that had been in his throat. His mouth opened in a silent scream as his tail tore into two separate pieces, and formed into human legs. Yugi nearly felt numb from the pain as the final change from scale to skin took place.

But soon there was an issue. Yugi immediately began to sink and drown since he couldn't breathe anymore. Joey and Malik instantly darted forward and grabbed their struggling friend, pulling him through a hole in Pegasus' roof and towards the surface.

Rebecca wiggled out of her bindings and darted out the entrance back towards her home. She was seriously hoping this was all a bad dream.

As he head broke the surface, Yugi gulped in the blessed oxygen he now needed to survive. As the sun set, the two merteens and one merteen turned human, following Malik's directions, set off for the home of Prince Atemu.

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> Who besides me cannot see Pegasus singing? The idea just creeps me out. But if you look closely, you see some of the words of the lyrics in what Pegasus is saying. And before anyone comments, Pegasus was supposed to seem a little too nice. He was baiting them.

Chapter updates are really going to slow down now.

Review?


	6. Chapter 6

**Alverna:** Next chapter. Now updates are really going to slow up. I don't own Yu-gi-oh or The Little Mermaid.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

* * *

><p>The next morning, a tri-color haired figure with tan skin was seen sitting on a stretch of beach next to the river, playing a soft tune on his flute. Prince Atemu had snuck out of the palace early that morning for some time along to think. Next to him, and listening to him play the soft melody that had been stuck in his head since his rescue, was a silver wolf and brown ball of fur.<p>

Further down were the beach were several people who had followed him later in the day as a 'search party', but had decided that they'd rather skive on their duties. A brown hair blue eyed man was keeping his eye on a couple of albinos who were making out, and a platinum blond haired figure who was trying to sneak up on the kissing couple with a flask of water.

"That voice." Atemu groaned as he stopped playing, got up, and walked awhile while kicking up a couple puffs of sand as Thema and Kuriboh followed him. "I can't get it out of my head. I've looked everywhere for him. Where could he be?"

* * *

><p>Slightly further down the Nile River, just around a bend and some rocks that caused him to be unseen, was Yugi. He lay flat on his stomach on the shoreline, completely exhausted after what had happened the previous night. The bag that held his DiaDhank and golden box were lying right next to him.<p>

Slowly stirring, Yugi glanced around to see that Joey and Malik were flopped down on some rocks near the shore, equally exhausted from their rescue swim. As Yugi began to turn around and push himself up, but stopped. He became fully awake as he saw that he had legs instead of fins. Raising a leg out of the water, Yugi's grin grew as he wiggled his toes.

Joey and Malik yawned as they sat up. Rubbing the sleep from their eyes, they looked over at Yugi, and then rubbed their eyes again to make sure they were awake.

"And I thought I had been dreaming." Joey said as he came up next to Yugi. "You really did trade your voice to the sea warlock and got legs."

"Duh." Malik said as he came up on Yugi's other side. "And two dumb questions. Why didn't we ask for those potions? And did anyone see where Rebecca went?"

"If we had, we all would have drowned." Joey replied. "Yugi getting his Yami is our main concern right now. After Yugi is together with his Yami, we'll go back and get ours. And Rebecca went home. I think she was hoping it was a bad dream."

"I was." Rebecca said as she popped up in the middle of the river, and came up next to them. "But I see that I wasn't."

"Well what are you going to do about it?" Malik asked. "Yugi's signed a contract. There is nothing you can do."

"I know." Rebecca moaned.

"He's been turned into a human." Joey continued as Yugi tried to stand on his wobbly legs. "And in case if you forgot, he has to make the prince, his Yami, fall in love with him. And they have to share true loves kiss."

"But he's only got three days." Rebecca pointed out as Yugi toppled over, splashing everyone. "Just look at him. On legs. On human legs! My nerves are shot."

"You think your nerves are shot, what about mine?" Malik asked as Yugi stood up again, pulling off pieces of seaweed. "Ishizu is going to kill me when I get home."

"Speaking of home, I'm going to swim myself there and tell King Solomon just like I should have done in the first place." Rebecca said and turned away.

A splash later, Rebecca found herself facing Yugi, who was shaking his head. He was pleading with her not to tell his grandfather. After the display in his grotto last night, Yugi knew that his grandfather would never understand his decision to change into a human to pursue his Yami.

"Don't you shake your head at me Yugi." Rebecca scolded and thought fast. "Maybe there's still time. If we could get that Tako to give you back your voice, you could go home with all the normal fish, and just be…"

Rebecca faltered as Yugi's eyes grew teary and face fell long sad. One look at him and his puppy dog eyes face made Rebecca felt terrible. Deep in her heart, she knew that the only thing that could save Yugi from Pegasus, and make him happy, was to be with the human prince.

"Just be… just be miserable for the rest of your life." Rebecca sighed, and yielded. "All right, all right. I'll try to help you find that prince."

"Malik, what are you doing?" Joey said, catching Yugi and Rebecca's attention.

Malik had pulled himself into a nearby boat, and was looking at the items on board. Some stuff flew overboard as Malik shifted around the small fishing boat, trying to avoid the sharp items.

"Well, on the ship all the humans all were wearing something." Malik said "Yugi currently has nothing on, and will probably offend the first human he meets. So maybe we could make something for him to wear instead."

"Do you have any idea how to make things that the humans wear?" Rebecca asked as she examined some cloth.

"No." Malik admitted.

* * *

><p>Not too far away was Atemu, who was throwing a stick for Thema and Kuriboh to fetch. As Thema brought the stick back, she sniffed at the air as Kuriboh took his turn. Smelling a familiar scent, she started to bounce up and down with enthusiasm. Kuriboh noticed his companion's behavior and scanned the area before becoming excited himself.<p>

"Thema? Kuriboh?" Atemu asked as the two duel monsters started to race up the beach, back to him, and them up the beach again without coming back. "Thema! Kuriboh!"

* * *

><p>"Not too bad." Joey said as he looked Yugi up and down.<p>

"Could be better." Rebecca sighed.

"You can't have everything in life." Malik pointed out.

Yugi was wearing the piece of cloth Rebecca had been holding around his waist, and Joey made a belt out of seashells and seaweed to hold it up, his bag on his shoulder.

"But still, you look great Yugi." Joey nodded his head.

Loud barking and cooing sounds caught everyone's attention. As they turned to look, a silver wolf and floating brown ball of fur rounded the corner. Gasping, the three merfolk ducked back underwater, while Yugi ran away as best he could. Stumbling a few paces, Yugi climbed onto a large nearby rock.

Thema followed excitedly as well as Kuriboh. The little brown ball of fur gently nuzzled Yugi's hair, helping him calm down a little as Thema jumped up and licked his face.

"Thema! Kuriboh!" Atemu called out, and rounded the corner, looking for his stray friends as they bounded up to him and tried to lead him back towards Yugi. "Quiet you two. What's gotten into you? Oh… oh, I see."

Atemu saw a young man with tri-colored hair that was similar to his own perched on the rock. Kuriboh went back to nuzzle him again, and Thema grabbed Atemu's cloak with her teeth, dragging him closer. Atemu huffed with a bit of frustration and pulled the piece of cloth out of the wolf's mouth before turning his attention to the boy.

"Are you okay, little one?" Atemu asked as he gently pulled Kuriboh out of Yugi's hair. "I'm sorry if these two scared you. They're harmless, really."

Yugi slowly nodded his head, his eyes warily remaining on Thema. Or rather, on her teeth.

"She won't hurt you." Atemu said and gently took Yugi's hand. "Here, let her smell you. That way if you ever get lost, she can find you with no problem."

Yugi trembled at first as Thema began to smell him. The fear disappeared as she licked his hands, which was a very ticklish gesture. Yugi began to smile as Thema popped up and licked his face again. Yugi then blushed and tried to tame some off his wild hair, hardly believing that he had found Atemu already. Or rather, the prince had found him.

"Are you alright?" Atemu asked, and Yugi looked back up to him.

Atemu felt his heart stop for two seconds. The boy's eyes were beautiful and very easy to get lost in. In fact, his mind jumped to his rescue and the person who had rescued him. The boy's eyes had triggered the memory.

"You… seem very familiar… to me." Atemu mused. "Have we met?"

Yugi slowly nodded while Thema and Kuriboh wiggled in excitement. They knew Yugi was the one. Atemu opened his mouth to ask the young male what his name was when he gently tapped the front of his throat.

"You can't speak?" Atemu asked, and when Yugi shook his head in confirmation, Atemu looked away, a bit embarrassed but mostly disappointed. "Oh. Then you couldn't be who I thought. I'm sorry."

Atemu felt a hand on his, and he looked up. The boy was smiling, as if he was telling him it was okay. The smile was contagious, and Atemu smiled back. As they stared into each other's eyes, they felt a connection of some sort being made between them.

"Atemu!" Seto's loud voice called from behind, making Yugi jerked back in shock and fall off the rock.

"Whoa, whoa, easy." Atemu said as he rounded the rock, ignoring his cousin.

"Atemu." Seto snapped, Bakura, Ryou, and Marik standing right behind him. "What do you have to say for yourself, running off like that?"

"Talk to the duel monsters." Atemu replied with his focus remaining on Yugi.

"So they took off running and you ran after them?" Bakura asked, putting together what happened before anyone else.

"Basically." Atemu said, still focused on the beautiful but mute boy in front of him.

"Will you come out from behind that rock before I force you to?" Seto seethed, his temper very short that morning.

"Yes Seto, just hold your horses." Atemu said as he stood, helping a still very wobbly Yugi up. "Careful… careful."

"Who's that?" Marik asked, his eyes widening as he spotted the mini-prince look alike being held up by the real prince.

"I'm not sure." Atemu answered. "He can't speak."

"He can't?" Ryou asked.

"No." Atemu replied, and caught Yugi, who stumbled. "Easy. You must have really been through something. Don't worry, I'll help you."

And with that, an Atemu helped Yugi regain his balance by wrapping an arm around his waist, and walked past the jaw dropped officials. They were on their way to the palace.

"Come on." Atemu said to Yugi, who blushing deeply at their close contact. "You'll be okay."

"Did I see what I thought I saw?" Bakura asked.

"Atemu helping a complete stranger?" Marik glanced over at his friend. "Yeah."

Yugi stole a glance at the water to see Joey and Malik giving him thumbs ups and large grins. Yugi's own grin stretched from ear to ear. With each step he took, he was one more step closer to making his dreams come true.

* * *

><p>Heaps of big bubbles filled the tub Yugi was in a few hours later. Yugi was watching the bubbles in his bath float around, the soapy white foam being a new and exciting experience for him. They popped when he touched them, and it made the smile on his face grow bigger. His bag was sitting on the edge of the tub and he didn't want anyone but himself touching it.<p>

"Washed up from a shipwreck." Isis, the lady who was helping him bathe, said as she poured some warm water over his head to rinse away some soap suds that clung to his thick hair.

Isis looked a lot like Malik's older sister Ishizu, but was one of the pharaoh's high priests and healer. She had tried to see if Yugi could write so communication would be easier. He could write, just not in Egyptian. However, thanks to simple lines on a sheet of papyrus, she found out that he was sixteen years old, despite looking like he was 10-12 years of age.

"Oh, you poor thing." Isis murmured as she gently ran some more water threw his hair, pulling out a piece of seaweed in the process. "We'll have you feeling better in no time."

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in the palace, a couple of the servant girls were gossiping as they worked. In fact, just about everyone was gossiping as they worked, and the latest topic was Yugi.<p>

"Well you must have at least heard about this boy." one said.

"Well, Vivian says he randomly shows up out of nowhere and is brought into the palace by the prince." another spoke. "And since when has Vivian gotten anything right?"

"I mean really, this boy shows up in rags and doesn't speak." the first one gushed. "And the prince, of all people, has taken interest."

"Well, this boy is not my idea of a prince." her companion replied. "And if Atemu's looking for a fiancée, I know of a couple of highly available ones right here."

* * *

><p>Another hour later, Pharaoh Aknankanon summoned his son, the high priests of the court, and some of the visiting lords for dinner. The conversation between Seto and Atemu as they entered the room was very interesting.<p>

"Atemu, be reasonable." Seto said exsasperatly. "Young men just don't swim around rescuing people in the middle of the ocean, and then flutter off into oblivion like some-"

"I'm telling you Seto, he was _real_!" Atemu finally snapped, very annoyed with his cousin.

"Atemu, is there any reason you and your cousin are arguing?" Aknankanon asked from the head of the table. "Don't get me wrong, it makes great dinner entertainment."

"Your son swallowed to much seawater a few days ago," Seto tried explaining, "and is insisting that a boy rescued him, called him, something or other, an-"

"His Yami." Atemu interrupted with a glare.

"And then disappeared." Seto finished, glaring back.

"Seto, we do live in a world with magic." Aknankanon said patiently. "It is possible that someone from another country, with magic, rescued him."

"That is plausible." Seto had to agree.

"Atemu, is there any reason you were so quick to defend yourself and correct Seto concerning your rescuer?" Aknankanon turned his attention to his heir.

"Yes." Atemu gave a small nod. "I don't care what anyone says about this, but I'm going to find that boy. And I'm going to marry him."

"Come on honey." Isis said from the doorway, holding it open so the person following her could enter, except the person was not following. "Don't be shy."

"Something wrong Isis?" Atemu asked.

"Our guest is a little nervous." Isis replied as she glanced to where he was hiding.

"Just grab the boy by the ear so we can eat." Marik said flatly.

"He's sixteen." Isis said just as flat, surprising everyone about his age.

"I'll help." Atemu sighed and stepped out into the hall, and stopped.

Yugi was standing next to the doorway. He was wearing a simple white upper tunic, with a light purple shendyt, some basic sandals, and a pair of golden cuffs on his wrist. This showed that he was a guest in the palace and not a servant.

"You look wonderful." Atemu breathed out, getting over his shock and smiling at the boy whose name he didn't know, who looked down and blushed at the praise. "You can come in. No one in there will bite you."

Taking a deep breath, Yugi inched closer to Atemu and followed him inside the dining room. Once there, he ducked behind the prince. Everyone was staring at them.

"Oh he's shy." a female voice said. "My name is Mana."

Yugi peeked out from behind Atemu to see a teenage girl with brown hair and forest green eyes. She wore a tan tunic and skirt, and held a small staff which she used to cast spells. Yugi smiled and gave a timid wave.

"Come on." Mana gently pulled him out of hiding and over to a nearby chair, the one next to Atemu's. "You must be famished. I know I am."

"Comfy?" Atemu asked as he sat down next to him, and Yugi nodded, bouncing gently on the comfortable seat cushions.

"It's not often that we have a lovely dinner guest, eh Atemu?" Marik snickered.

"Ha, ha." Atemu rolled his eyes.

As dinner was served, Yugi picked at the contents of his plate. He unsure of what he was being given to eat, and didn't know if he would even like human food. .

"It's not poisoned if that's what you're wondering." Atemu whispered in his ear, making Yugi flush in embarrassment before he nibbled on some leafy green food..

The rest of dinner did go smoothly, and Yugi found out that he really liked the date fruit. Though went dessert came, and no one was sure how it happened, but Yugi's dessert somehow ended up tipped onto Bakura's head. The entire room erupting in laughter.

"So…" Atemu chocked out, trying to control himself. "So sorry Bakura."

"I'll bet." Bakura muttered as he pulled the food contents out of his hair.

"Atemu, that's the first time I've seen you really smile in weeks." Aknankanon said happily.

"You know Atemu, perhaps our young guest might enjoy seeing some of the sights of the kingdom." Seto said from across the table. "Something in the way of a tour?"

Atemu hadn't paid attention to a word Seto had said. His gaze was on Yugi, who was munching on another date fruit. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it registered that someone was talking to him, and that he should probably respond.

"I'm sorry Seto, what was that?" Atemu turned his focus off of Yugi.

"You can't spend all your time moping about, you need to get out." Seto glared. "Do something, have a life. Get your mind off-"

"Easy Seto, easy." Atemu raised his hands in mock surrender. "A tour is honestly not a bad idea. If he's interested."

However, Yugi was not paying any attention to the conversation. He was looking down the table at Ryou and was debating on whether he would try to get the young man's attention or not.

"Well what do you say little one?" Atemu asked, and Yugi turned to him. "Would you like to join me on a tour of the kingdom tomorrow?"

Yugi's face lit up at the suggestion and he nodded vigorously. A whole day of just him and Atemu and the human world? Nothing could be better than that! Except maybe, a kiss.

"Well now that that's settled, it is time for us to turn in." Aknankanon stood up, the rest of the room following suit. "Good night to all."

* * *

><p>Yugi sat in his bedroom, which Prince Atemu had personally escorted him to before bidding him a good night. Next to him sat his bag, which contained his DiaDhank and golden box. Yugi realized that the golden box actually had puzzle pieces in it. He was trying to put the puzzle together, and was about halfway done.<p>

"Psst!" Joey hissed. "Yugi! Window!"

Yugi looked up to see Joey and Malik hanging off the edge of the balcony of his room. The Nile River was directly below his window, but there was 10 ft. of dry land and a 50-100 ft. climb up to his balcony, so they had to drag themselves to get there.

"We heard you're going for a ride with the prince tomorrow." Malik grinned.

"Try to flirt with him." Joey encouraged.

"Bat your eyes and pucker your lips." Malik added.

"You need to do everything you can to get him to kiss  
>you." Joey reminded.<p>

Yugi nodded his understanding. He knew what was at stake and tomorrow was the best time for him to get Atemu to kiss him. Yugi smiled at the idea of them smooching, and then yawned as the day caught up with him.

"Good night Yugi." Malik said, and then he and Joey dove off of the balcony, barely splashing as they re-entered the river, where Rebecca was waiting for news.

Yugi waved good-bye, grateful he had such good friends to help him like this. Blowing out his candle like he would a magical light in his room, the bedroom fell into darkness with the light of the moon to guide Yugi to his bed.

Yugi flopped down on the mattress, startled but pleased at the soft and cushiony feeling. Stretching, he nestled into one of the pillows, and fell fast asleep. His dreams were filled on him and Atemu on their wedding day.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back in the undersea palace, no one was as comfortable as Yugi in his bed. In fact, no one was even asleep. Everyone was out looking for Yugi. King Solomon paced the length of his chambers in worry before looking out of his window. Arthur returned from another search and swam up to his longtime friend with a report.<p>

"Any sign of them?" Solomon asked, begging for good news.

"No, my friend." Arthur replied. "We've searched everywhere. We've found no trace of Yugi, Rebecca, Joey, or Malik."

"Well, keep looking." Solomon commanded, his voice sounding angry because of his worry but it softened as he continued. "Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no one in this kingdom sleep until they're safe at home."

"Yes sire." Arthur bowed.

Arthur swam out of the room to relay the new orders, leaving Solomon to mourn the loss of his grandson in peace. The sea king sat down heavily on his bed, believing that it was his fault that Yugi had disappeared.

"Oh, what have I done?" Solomon asked as he cried. "What have I done?"

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> Review? -puppy dog eyes of doom-


	7. Chapter 7

**Alverna:** Here is chapter 7. I need help with my "How did it come to this?" story. So please vote on my poll. I don't own Yu-gi-oh or The Little Mermaid.

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

* * *

><p>Early the next morning, two spiky haired figures were seen getting into a single horse drawn chariot. Waving good-bye, Atemu and the silent guest left for the tour. Atemu pointed some things out on the way to the main part of the city, but Yugi was more interested in the horse in front of them.<p>

'_He's just as curious as Ryou was when Bakura found him a year ago._' Atemu realized.

Once inside the town, Atemu led his look alike past all of the vendors and their goods. Yugi couldn't help but gawk with wide eyes at all of the stuff there was. Crates of squawking chickens, vendors with so many goods and food items, and even some live performers doing a show.

Atemu chuckled at Yugi's enthusiasm as he bought something for them to eat for lunch, easily enjoying himself as well. As he finished paying, his smaller version grabbed his hand and tugged on him, pointing at something as he pulled.

Yugi had spotted a group of people doing something together he had only imagined trying to do himself. Dancing, and he wanted to attempt to try it so badly. Atemu seemed to understand what he wanted to try, and made their way to where people were dancing. Both of them joined in, Yugi a bit hesitant at first since he didn't know what he was doing, but with Atemu guiding him he quickly got the hang of what they were doing.

They both had lots of fun, despite Yugi's inability to talk. Both realized how much they enjoyed the others company despite only knowing each other for less than 48 hours. Atemu didn't know why, but Yugi knew it was because they were Yami and Hikari. They were made for each other.

Malik and Joey took turns getting close to Yugi and Atemu. They risked being spotted to see what was happening with the two males. Each time they hoped that they would just kiss already.

"Have they kissed yet?" Joey asked as Malik returned from his shift.

"Not yet." Malik sighed.

"Well they'd better get cracking." Rebecca grumbled.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Atemu and Yugi left the village and headed towards a deserted area of the Nile River. Atemu helped Yugi into a boat so they could watch the sun set on the river. They sky was starting to turn a soft shade of red, purple, and pink, and some trees hung wispily over a few lily pads. It was the perfect romantic setting.<p>

"Rebecca, move over." Joey hissed. "I can't see a thing."

"Me either." Malik agreed.

"Nothing is happening." Rebecca moaned. "Only one day left, and the prince ain't puckered up once. All right, this calls for a little vocal romantic stimulation. Stand back."

Rebecca cleared her throat and started to croon softly. It started out okay, but ended up as more of a screech, making Joey and Malik cover their ears.

"Wow." Atemu said as he covered his own ears. "Somebody should find that poor animal and put it out of its misery."

Yugi grimaced at the noise, knowing Rebecca was making the racket, but was highly embarrassed at her attempted help. Yugi winced as Rebecca screeched a high note and buried his face in his hands.

Joey and Malik were as appreciative of Rebecca's attempt at romantic song as Atemu and his date. Romance was just not her forte. Pop and jazz, yes. Romance, no.

"Gah! Surrounded by amateurs!" Malik moaned.

Joey nodded his head before knocking Rebecca out, silencing the noise she was making. He then tied her up and gagged her before tied her to the bottom of the bay they were in.

"If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself." Malik muttered as he found himself a conductor like stick.

Surprisingly, Malik knew the ways of serenading and seduction, all thanks to his sister Ishizu. He never thought it would come in handy one day, but he could see he was wrong. Joey knew a little via Malik so he could provide back-up.

"First, we got to create _la mood_." Malik grinned as Joey bobbed back up and gathered some of the nearby ocean animals.

"Percussion…" Joey instructed.

Some sea otters started to sea urchins on rocks that they had on their stomachs to make a steady rhythm. Once the beat was establish, Malik turned to some nearby land animals called crickets.

"Strings…" Malik commanded the nearby crickets, who rubbed their hind legs together.

"Winds…" Joey whispered as wind blew through the tops of hollow grasses.

"Words…" Malik said.

The two mermen had created an instant orchestra to make the perfect atmosphere for falling in love. Nothing could be better. Malik turned as the boat drifted closer to the reeds he was hiding in, and began to sing.

"_There you see him,  
>Sitting there across the way.<br>He don't got a lot to say,  
>But there's something about him<em>."

As Atemu heard the voice singing, he looked even more closely at Yugi. Yugi was enthralled by everything around him, and was glad he couldn't make any noises, so he couldn't gasp when he saw his friend singing over Atemu's shoulder.

"_And you don't know why,  
>But you're dying to try,<br>You want to kiss the boy_."

Malik whispered the last part in Atemu's ear before letting the reeds surround him as the prince turned around. He was confused by what was going on, and could have sworn someone had just spoken to him.

"Did you hear something?" Atemu asked Yugi, who just shrugged.

Malik swam back with a grin and nodded at Joey, who nodded back. He encouraged the other animals to sing along with himself as background singers while Malik stayed the main singer.

"_Yes, you want him._  
><em>Look at him, you know you do.<em>  
><em>Possible he wants you too,<br>There is one way to ask him._

_It don't take a word,  
>Not a single word,<br>Go on and kiss the boy_."

Yugi looked away and blushed as the words floated past the boat, wishing he wasn't so shy. Atemu had been enthralled by Yugi all day, and looked over at his silent guest before his mind remembered the one who had saved him from drowning. To get this thoughts off of anything, he focused on rowing the oars.

"Sing with us now." Joey encouraged the frogs on the bottom of the river.

"_Sha-la-la-la-la-la._  
><em>My oh my,<em>  
><em>Look like the prince too shy.<br>Ain't going to kiss the boy. _

_Sha-la-la-la-la-la.  
>Ain't that sad?<br>Ain't it a shame?  
>Too bad, he going to miss the boy<em>."

To be honest, the words of the song had gotten to Atemu and he locked eyes with Yugi. They stared into the deeply colored irises of the other person as the music worked its magic.

"You know I feel really bad not knowing your name." Atemu told his silent companion. "Maybe I could guess. Is it, err, Eros?"

Yugi made a face of disgust. He wasn't even sure what country that name was from but it sure wasn't his. Atemu laughed at the face Yugi made and raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Okay, no. How about… Heba?" Atemu asked, earning another 'no' from Yugi. "Ramesses?"

"Yugi." Joey hissed from behind Atemu's elbow. "His name is Yugi."

"Yugi?" Atemu questioned as he looked around quizzically, wondering who had spoken.

But any those thoughts were put aside as his guest leaned forward nodding, a bright smile on his face. Atemu turned his full attention to Yugi with a hopeful smile. Had he really…?

"Yugi?" Atemu asked, and the now named Yugi gave another nod as he grabbed the prince's hand. "Well, that's kind of sweet. Alright then. Yugi."

Staring deeply into each other's eyes, Yugi and Atemu forgot about the rest of the world. There was only each other. With the oars completely forgotten, the boat drifted towards and then inside some willows, shielding them from the outside world. But not from Malik and Joey, who were still singing with large grins on their faces.

"_Now's your moment,_  
><em>Floating in a blue lagoon.<br>Prince you better do it soon.  
>No time will be better.<em>

_He don't say a word,  
>And he won't say a word,<br>Until you kiss the boy_."

Joey led a bunch of fish and other marine mammal in a circle under the boat, spinning it in a slow circle. The animals as they joined the song as they flicked their tails to make splashes of water.

"_Sha-la-la-la-la-la._  
><em>Don't be scared,<br>You got the mood prepared,  
>Go on and kiss the boy.<em>"

A ring of fireflies circled around the boat, flicking their lights on and off. The effect of the soft glow made the skin of Yugi and Atemu shine with delight, but neither of them noticed the insects. Their attention was on the person sitting across from them.

"_Sha-la-la-la-la-la.  
>Don't stop now.<br>Don't try to hide it how,  
>You want to kiss the boy<em>."

"Whoa, whoa!" everyone cheered as they kept going.

"_Sha-la-la-la-la-la._  
><em>Float along,<br>And listen to the song.  
>The song says kiss the boy.<em>"

Rebecca got loose from her bindings somehow and tried to rejoin the song. But none of the animals were having it, and bopped her back to the bottom of the lagoon.

_Sha-la-la-la-la-la.  
>The music play,<br>Do what the music says,  
>You got to kiss the boy<em>."

Malik and Joey grinned as Atemu and Yugi stared deeply into each other's eyes. It was obvious they felt something for the other in the boat.

"_You've got, to_ _kiss the boy_."

Birds tweeted softly as the music worked its magic. With the encouraging words of the song, the two young men started to lean closer to one another.

"_Why don't you, kiss the boy_?"

Frogs, flamingos and ducks all made kissing noises as Yugi and Atemu's eyes started to close. They leaned closer together and felt the other's warm breath sweep across their faces.

"_Go on and, kiss the boy_."

It was the perfect setting for a first kiss. Yugi and Atemu's eyes slid completely shut and their lips puckered. Joey and Malik gripped the other as they watched the lips that were not even an inch apart.

"_Go on and kiss the boy_."

SPLASH!

Just before Yugi and Atemu kissed, the boat was tipped over without any warning, sending the two into the river. Yugi panicked since he didn't know how to swim in his human form. With his arms flailing about, he tried to keep his head above the water.

"Whoa, hang on." Atemu quickly swam over and wrapped his arms around the flailing Yugi. "I've got you little one. Calm down."

Yugi breathed easier now that his Yami's arms were around him and kept him from drowning. But neither one of them noticed the two bald men with eel tails congratulate each other. Para and Dox had purposely tipped the boat over to keep them from kissing.

* * *

><p>"Nice work, boys." Pegasus said as he watched the scene with his magic. "That was a close one. Too close. The little imp! Oh, Yugi-boy's better than I thought. At this rate, those two will be kissing by tomorrow's sunset for sure. "<p>

Pegasus swam around, grabbing some ingredients as a plan formed in his head. Grabbing a deck of specific cards that had of merfolk attributes, he selected the ones he needed, placing the rest in a pouch on a belt he wore around his waist.

"Well, it's time I took matters into my own tentacles!" Pegasus started the spell. "Solomon's grandson will be mine… And then I'll make him writhe. I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!"

As Pegasus laughed his known laugh of a young and yet older man's laugh, he began to transform into a human. His silver hair turned black and grew to his mid-back, the Millennium Eye disappeared with the magic so he had two amber eyes instead of one, his own height shrank a little, and Yugi's voice became his own.

* * *

><p>Back on land, a full moon glowed in the sky above the palace. Atemu stood on a balcony close to the river and was playing the tune sung to him by the mystery boy who had saved his life on his flute again. He couldn't forget about him, but he had also become very interested in Yugi. Did he stop his search and focus solely on Yugi, or did he keep looking. The internal war inside him made the prince stopped and sigh as Mahad approached him.<p>

"Atemu, if I may say so…" Mahad said as he came next to his friend and prince while placing a hand on one of his shoulders. "Far better than any dream boy, is one of flesh and blood, one warm and caring, and right before your eyes."

Mahad smiled and gestured to Yugi on the balcony of his room, where he was working on something they couldn't see. Mahad then turned and walked away with a smile, leaving Atemu to think about what he just said.

Atemu watched his childhood friend walk way, and then looked back up to Yugi, who looked pleased about something before yawning and heading back into his room for the night. Atemu smiled before he looked back down to his flute, and then the window before he realized that Mahad was right. Yugi was amazing. Yes, Atemu could forget about the one who called him Yami and sang to him. But only if Yugi was there.

With one last look at his flute, Atemu sighed and tossed it into the Nile River, where the current carried it towards the ocean. He turned to head back inside, but heard something calling out. Turning back, he saw a young man walking along the beach, their amber eyes standing out in the dark night.

"My Yami." the person called, their voice sounding like it was on the verge of singing.

Atemu didn't notice of the strands of magic coming from the person and surrounding him. It seeped into his skin and his eyes became blank.

"I promised I would return to you." the person proclaimed.

And Atemu lost all coherent thoughts, except for the man in front of him. The man who called him his Yami. The dark hypnotizing magic had done its work.

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> I hated typing the last segment. Anyway, review.


	8. Chapter 8

**Alverna:** Here's chapter 8. My other stories will be updated soon, so don't ask about them. I don't own Yu-gi-oh or The Little Mermaid, enjoy.

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

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><p>The next morning, Yugi was sleeping peacefully on his bed. The birds were chirping outside the window, there was a gentle breeze, the sun was shining, and Yugi was startled awake by cold water being dumped on his face.<p>

"Rise and shine lover boy!" Joey chirped as he passed a huge, and now hollow seashell, to Malik. "We did it!"

Shaking the remaining sleep, and water, off him, Yugi blinked at looked at his two friends in complete confusion. He felt groggy and didn't quite understand what was going on.

"The whole town is buzzing about Atemu getting himself hitched this afternoon!" Malik grinned as Yugi looked at him even more confused than what he was earlier. "You know, he's getting married!"

"We just wanted to wish you luck." Rebecca called from the balcony railing as Joey and Malik dragged themselves back over.

"Catch you later pal." Joey grinned as they readied to jump back into the Nile.

"We're not going to miss it." Malik added as leapt off of the balcony and disappeared under the water, leaving Yugi to figure out what had just happened.

Then it hit him. Atemu was getting married. Today. They had almost kissed last night, and there were no visiting royals from other countries, so the only person Atemu could possibly be marrying was him! Yugi brightened and felt like his face was going to spilt he was grinning so much. Quickly pulling on his clothes and jewelry, he ran down the hallway towards the throne room.

"Well Atemu, it appears I was mistaken." Seto spoke, and Yugi stopped outside the door to the throne room. "This mystery rescuer of yours does in fact exist. And Nerki is stunning."

Yugi peaked into the throne room to see Atemu standing by his father's throne with a young man that had black hair that was tied at the base of his neck and came to about mid-back. He had amber eyes and was half and inch shorter than the prince. Nerki.

"We wish to be married as soon as possible." Atemu said in a flat voice, completely stone-faced.

Yugi's eyes widened as he pulled away and continued to, his heart starting to break. Where did this Nerki person come from? Why was he here? And why did Atemu want to marry him? He was Atemu's Hikari, the only person he could ever want _and_ need to be with for the rest of his life.

"Yes, of course my son." Aknankanon agreed. "But these things do take time you know."

"This afternoon, Father." Atemu commanded in the same monotone voice. "The wedding ship will depart at sunset."

The crack in Yugi's heart split even more as tears sprang to his eyes. He had never even heard of a Yami rejecting their Hikari after they had met. It hurt. It was becoming hard to breath and tears started to dam up in his eyes.

"Very well Atemu, as you wish. " Aknankanon sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue with his son.

Atemu was as stubborn as his mother, and his father, put together. Guess that's why he was their kid.

Yugi couldn't bear it anymore. He stumbled as he attempted to run back down the hallway toward his room, crying his heart out. The only one to see him leave was the one with the malicious amber eyes glistening as he slyly placed his head onto Atemu's shoulder. And the one with soft brown eyes and albino white hair in the hallway.

'_Something is defiantly wrong._' Ryou thought.

The young man glanced into the throne room to see the black hair, amber eyed man snuggle up to the prince. Making a quick decision, he followed the crying teen. Now Ryou knew that something was defiantly wrong. Atemu was head over heels for their silent guest last night, so what would have made him change his mind now?

"May I come in?" Ryou called softly as he knocked on their guest's door.

Footsteps slowly padded towards the door, and opened it. Ryou gasped as the state the small male was in. Tears were flowing down his face in rivers, his eyes red and puffy, along with looking like all life had gone out of them.

'_He's taking the prince getting married hard._' Ryou thought, and then jerked in surprise as the mute teen threw his arms around him and cried. '_Very hard._'

"Ryou, what are you doing here?" Bakura asked as he rounded the corner. "You were supposed to be in the throne room, but you walked strait past."

"That was because I saw our mute friend run away from the doors," Ryou started to explain.

"Yugi." Bakura cut in. "Atemu found out yesterday evening and told the court last night. You were already in bed."

"Okay, Yugi ran away from the doors, crying like his heart had been broken." Ryou glanced down. "And he still is."

"I think he fell in love with Atemu." Bakura said in a softer and not as gruff voice. "That's why he's so heartbroken. Just like how I would have been heartbroken if you had rejected me."

That voice he was using wasn't one he used very often, except to comfort those he cared about. The tri-colored haired midget had somehow wormed his way through the wall off stone. Then again, even Seto admitted that Yugi was pretty cute, but threatened to harm anyone who repeated his words.

"What can we do?" Ryou asked as he held the crying Yugi.

"I personally think that Atemu does not love Nerki." Bakura reasoned. "He was so passionate about finding his rescuer, and now that he has found him, he became a… well… An emotionless drip, for lack of a better term. He could be under a spell."

"Then how do we stop the spell?" Ryou asked.

"I don't know." Bakura shrugged. "I'll get Marik and Seto to help me, but make sure Yugi is on that wedding boat. He needs to be there once Atemu snaps out of it."

* * *

><p>Music played as the wedding ship departed. The ship was grand with ornate details and exquisite decorations. It was also filled with guests from the nearby villages, all eager to see Atemu's wedding. Poor Yugi stood next to the railing, feeling dejected and heartbroken as some small tears escaping his eyes now. He had no voice, and his dreams of being with Atemu were practically crushed. So he stood alone, away from the crowd and looked over the edge.<p>

"Yugi!" Joey called, making Yugi jerked out of his thoughts to see Joey and Malik climbing up the side of the ship with Rebecca staying in the water.

" I was looking for you in a room below deck, to give you a sea flower for good luck." Malik gasped. "And instead I saw a black haired amber eyed male. He was staring into a mirror, and was singing to himself with a stolen set of pipes!"

"Do you get it Yugi?" Joey whispered in distress. "Prince Atemu is marrying Pegasus in disguise!"

Yugi's eyes widened. Pegasus? It all made sense to Yugi now. Pegasus was doing all he could to keep Atemu from kissing Yugi, and that meant that Atemu was certainly under a spell now.

"What are we going to do!?" Rebecca said from her spot in the mouth of the river.

Yugi shrugged his shoulders in hopelessness as he as watched the sun drop towards the horizon. He was running out of time. Atemu had to give him true loves kiss before the sun set, or his soul would belong to Pegasus. He had to make Atemu see the truth… somehow. But how?

'_Before the sun sets on the third day._' Pegasus's voice echo in Yugi's head as he watched the sun sink even lower.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think now would be a good time to get the sea king." Rebecca started. "We need help. He must know about this."

"You're right." Joey looked down at her. "Go, quickly."

"What are we going to do?" Malik fretted.

"Remember how we were in gangs before we became Yugi's friend?" Joey asked with a small grimace. "I know that crashing a human's party was on the to-do list."

"Then it looks like we are going to stall this wedding!" Malik grinned as he climbed back down.

"Hang in there Yugi." Joey said as he followed. "_You_ are going to marry Atemu, and no one else. We'll be back as soon as we can."

'_Please hurry._' Yugi thought as the sun slipped lower.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, the wedding had started. Joey and Malik still weren't back. Nerki was walking down the long, purple carpeted aisle, and guest bowed their heads as he walked past. Yugi stood holding Kuriboh next to Mana, who was holding a groomed Thema on a leash.<p>

Thema growled as Nerki walked past. She didn't trust this man as far as the Shadow Realm could throw him, and that was saying something. Both Them and Kuriboh knew that this… thing, because he definitely was not a human, was not the one who had saved Atemu. Nerki glared down at the growling Silver Fang before kicking her. Thema whimpered and allowed Yugi to look and see if she was bleeding. Thankfully she wasn't, or Kuriboh would have blown up on Nerki's bottom.

Upon reaching Atemu, who was waiting at the front, the ceremony began. All of the priest were lined up, three on either side of the couple, and Pharaoh Aknankanon in the middle of the two. Nerki slipped a glance at the setting sun, and grinned. He was only minutes away from victory.

"People of Egypt, we are here today to witness the marriage of Prince Atemu and his betrothed, Nerki." Pharaoh Aknankanon started in a clear voice. " Prince Atemu, do you vow to protect and care for Nerki as you do your own family?"

"I do." Atemu said in the same monotone voice he had spoken in all day.

"Nerki, do you vow to obey and love Prince Atemu as you do your own family?" Aknankanon asked as he turned to his future 'son-in-law'.

As Nerki opened his mouth to reply, a seagull's piercing screech caught his attention, and got louder and louder. Turning his head, he spotted a huge flock of seagulls that dive bombed right towards him, each having an 'I'm going to cause lots of trouble' look in their eyes..

Nerki ducked and glared before dodging the next wave of gulls. Within moments, the entire ship was in a panic as the guests screamed and attempted to run away as other ocean animals, such as seals, lobsters, and sea otters, leapt up onto the deck, causing chaos.

"My kind of wedding." Marik cheered as he threw as sea star at Nerki.

Bakura had told Marik his theory of Atemu being under a spell, and he totally agreed. Besides, he liked crashing parties. Wedding or birthday, if it was a party, he crashed it. Yugi grinned at Marik's words and released Kuriboh into the now ruined wedding.

Joey and Malik had done there work. True the merfolk part of the gangs could actually go on the deck, but they sure could plan attack strategies. Like the seals bouncing Pegasus disguised at Nerki into the wedding feast before getting sprayed by dolphins.

Throughout all of this, Atemu had stood still, unaffected by all of the pandemonium. Pharaoh Aknankanon tried to regain some sense of order with the help of a few of his priest, Shada, Karim, and Aknadin. The rest, Mahad, Isis, and Seto, seemed to be intent on wreaking the wedding as well.

"Kuri?" Kuriboh asked as he held up a pack of card that he had gotten off of the weird man.

"Give me those back!" Nerki –Pegasus- shouted, making Kuriboh so mad he just multiplied, tossed the cards up in the air, and self-destructed everyone. Not a card remained.

"Kuri." Kuriboh smirked.

(**A/N:** Translation: Oopsie. And can Kuriboh smirk?)

Thema somehow got off of her leash -oh wait, was that Mana whistling innocently?- and bit Nerki as the cards were destroyed. Nerki screamed as the Silver Fang's teeth sank into his bottom.

Three things happened at once. Ryou clutched his head at the sudden headache he got, Atemu brought a hand to his head and wondered how he had gotten onto a ship when the last thing he remembered was throwing his flute into the ocean, and Yugi started to laugh as a ball of golden light entered his throat.

"Yugi?" Atemu asked, not quite believing what his ears were hearing.

"Atemu." Yugi smiled, and giggled as Thema and Kuriboh nuzzled up to him again. "My Yami."

Yugi looked at Atemu with a look of such tender love. It felt so good to be able to call Atemu _his_ Yami. With _his_ voice.

"You can talk." Atemu raced over to him and pulled him close. "You're the one."

"Atemu, get away from him! Pegasus said, not realizing his voice had returned to normal.

"It was you the whole time." Atemu smiled down the four inches in height.

"Atemu, I wanted to tell you." Yugi smiled back as their lips closed in.

"NO!" Pegasus yelled, enraged that he was going to lose.

Just before their lips touched, the sun vanished completely under the horizon. Yugi screamed and clutched Atemu as he felt an overbearing pain in his legs.

"Yugi!" Atemu gasped as he tightened his hold and lowered his beloved to the ship's deck. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Yugi gasped in agony as a bright light emitted from his entire body. After the light dimmed, Yugi was barely conscious.

"The sun set." Yugi whispered. "I only had three days."

"Three days to what?" Atemu asked, confused.

Something cold and a tad bit slimy touch his leg, making Atemu looked down to see what he felt. He gasped, as did everyone else on the ship. Where Yugi's legs had been, was an amethyst colored tail.

"You're a merman." Bakura breathed out.

"I was to once." Ryou revealed.

"What!?" Bakura yelped.

"You're too late Yugi-boy." Pegasus laughed as he changed back to his Tako form, much to the horror of everyone on the boat.

Atemu felt sick to his stomach. He had practically married an _octopus_? And the guy only had one eye? Ew. Wait, was that the Millennium Eye?

"You're too late." Pegasus grinned as his tentacles snatched Yugi away from his Yami and then propelled him and his prize overboard. "So long, lover boy."

"Atemu!" Yugi screamed as they fell towards the water.

"Yugi!" Atemu yelled as he watched his love vanish beneath the waves. "No!"

A sudden pain in Atemu's foot made him look down. It was the bag that Yugi always wore on him. The flap had come undone, showing Atemu the contents inside, making him gasp as he pulled them out.

"A DiaDhank!" Mahad gasped.

"And the Millennium Puzzle." Aknankanon added, despite his shock of seeing the box that was used to transport the puzzle.

"How could he have gotten them?" Atemu asked.

"We swam, that's how." Joey said from the ships railing. "Found it on a sunken ship."

Everyone looked up, everyone saw two grim faced mermen. One had golden hair, hazel eyes, and a dusty gold tail. The other had platinum blond hair, lilac colored eyes, and a sandy colored tail that had two lilac colored stripes running down his sides.

"If I've read the inscription on the box right, it says 'Whoever solves the Millennium Puzzle shall be granted a wish and the knowledge and powers of darkness'." Malik added to everyone's confusion. "Yugi had almost finished the puzzle, so you could put in the final piece, get a wish, and rescue Yugi."

"How?" Atemu said, not fitting connecting the dots.

"You wish for yourself to become a merman, that's how." Joey said exsasperatly.

"Oh." Atemu felt incredibly stupid.

"Let's go then." Ryou chirped and jumped over the edge.

"Ryou!" Bakura yelled as his husband hit the water.

A flash of light came from under the surface, and two seconds later, Ryou jumped out of the water and landed next to Joey and Malik. Only now, he had a white tail, the edge of his fins the same brown as his eyes.

"Nice to see you back in the water, Ry-Ry." Malik grinned.

"I'll kill you later." Ryou said as he glared at his now remembered friend. "Anyone else coming?"

"I am." Bakura said in an instant, tugging off his outer robes.

"No surprises there." Joey muttered as he elbowed Ryou, who elbowed him back.

"Me too." Marik grinned as he copied Bakura.

"You?" Atemu asked.

"It's a party we're going to right?" Malik's grinned got even bigger. "And if there's a party-"

"You're going to crash it." Atemu, Bakura, and Seto finished.

"Yep." Marik replied with a dreamy look.

"I'm coming to make sure that a least one person has a level head in all of this." Seto said as he pulled off his outer robes and priest hat, revealing his brown hair.

"Okay then." Atemu took his cape, upper tunic, and heavy jewelry off before turning to his father. "I will be back. But not without Yugi."

"I understand." Aknankanon said and hugged his son.

"I wish Bakura, Marik, Seto and I were mermen so we can rescue Yugi." Atemu said as he clicked in the last piece of the puzzle, and jumped over the edge of the ship.

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> Before anyone asks, I will explain why Ryou changed into a merman when he jumped into the water next chapter. Ditto for Pegasus and the Millennium Eye.

Review.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alverna: **Here's chapter 9.

And I know I said I would explain Pegasus and Ryou this chapter, but that will have to wait until the next chapter.

I don't own Yu-gi-oh or The Little Mermaid. Enjoy.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

* * *

><p>"Poor little Yugi-boy." Pegasus said as he chained Yugi down to an upright stone tablet in his homesecret evil lair. "Though it's not you I'm after. I've a much bigger fish to fry."

"What?" Yugi gasped as his arms were pinned in a 'Y' above his head and his tail was chained towards the base of the tablet.

"Though you are rather pretty," Pegasus paused with a thoughtful look and stroked Yugi's face, making him flinch. "And very young."

"Pegasus, stop!" Solomon thundered very angry as he charge into the room with Rebecca and her grandfather, Arthur, right behind him.

"Grandpa." Yugi whimpered in relief upon seeing his only living relative.

"Why, King Solomon." Pegasus turned from Yugi and gave a mock bow as he chuckled. "Welcome to my _humble_ abode. How are you doing today?"

"Cut the chit-chat Pegasus." Solomon growled. "Let my grandson go."

"Not a chance!" Pegasus looked up gleefully and pulled out the contract Yugi had signed only three days ago. "He's mine now. We made a deal. And this contract is legal, binding, and completely unbreakable. Even for _you_."

"I'm so sorry Grandpa." Yugi said softly with tears coming from his eyes, making the water around his face slightly warmer.

"It's alright Yugi." Solomon said gently. "I will find a way for you to be free again."

"That's impossible." Pegasus snickered. "You are free to look over the contract if you wish. Though I doubt you'll find any way out of it."

"We'll see about that." Solomon snapped as he snatched the contract out of the water in front of him.

* * *

><p>"You flick your tail right to turn right!" Joey moaned for the tenth time.<p>

Apparently it was easier for merfolk-turned-human to learn how to walk, than humans-turned-merfolk to learn how to swim. Atemu and Bakura had caught on pretty fast, but Seto and Marik were still having some trouble.

"It's just like steering a ship." Atemu finally said with an irritated sigh, knowing that they had lost so much time. "Your tail is the rudder, and you turn it in whatever direction you want to go."

"Oh." Marik stopped for a second before trying it. "It works!"

"About time." Malik sighed. "Now, we're almost there, having spent nearly the whole time how to swim. What's the plan?"

"Um…" Joey hummed blankly as everyone glance at the other.

"That's what I thought." Atemu groaned.

"Okay, Joey and I will go in first." Malik instructed. "Ryou, you come next with your Yami, followed by everyone else."

"Since we have no other plan, okay." Ryou nodded his head.

* * *

><p>"Nothing." Arthur said as he looked up from the scroll. "Every 'i' is dotted, and every 't' is crossed. There is nothing we can do to get Yugi out of this."<p>

"Of course, I always was a man with an eye for a bargain." Pegasus drawled out as he took the contract back. "The grandson of the great sea king is a very precious commodity. But… I might be willing to make an exchange for someone even better."

"What kind of exchange are you talking about?" Solomon asked.

"A soul for a soul." Pegasus said as he unrolled the contract. "You give me your soul, and little Yugi-boy goes free."

"Cut the talk Pegasus." Joey snapped as he swam in at high speed with Malik right behind him.

"How did you two get in?" Pegasus demanded, anger showing.

"Simple." Malik shrugged. "Your Unagi guards are in here. It was easy."

"For Pete's sake, what's wrong with security these days?" Pegasus growled.

"I don't know." Joey shrugged. "Why don't you ask them?"

"Alright." Solomon agreed to Pegasus' terms and signed his name with a small blast from the trident.

"It's done then!" Pegasus declared triumphantly.

The shackles on Yugi released him. As he fell forward, the chains locked on King Solomon's wrists and bound him to the tablet.

"Good-bye, oh mighty King Solomon." Pegasus said sarcastically.

The Millennium Eye glowed, and a flash of light later Solomon was hanging limply in the chains. Behind him, his soul was etched in the stone tablet.

"Grandpa." Yugi whimpered as he touched his grandfather's face. "No."

"At last." Pegasus grinned as he took hold of the trident. "It's mine."

"It might be yours, but I ain't bowing to ya." Joey growled.

As Pegasus opened his mouth to resort, a hand popped out from above him and grabbed the contract.

"Got it!" Ryou cheered as he dodged Para and Dox, making it safely back to his friends, muttering under his breath.

"Ryou?" Arthur and Rebecca's jaws dropped.

"Yes?" Ryou asked, his attention still on the scroll.

"Where have you been?" Arthur asked once he found his voice.

"With my Yami." Ryou answered promptly. "Now, if he could just get his tail in here."

"I'm coming." Bakura snapped as he glided past and crashed into a wall.

Bakura had a deep red tail with a two inch black strip encircling his waist like a belt. Marik followed Bakura and also crashed. His tail was a dark, almost black, purple color, with tan edging on his fin. Seto managed to stop without crashing. He had an icy blue tail and no markings.

"Maybe we should have taught 'em how to stop." Joey whispered to Malik, who nodded in agreement.

"What are you doing?" Bakura asked as he looked over his Hikari's shoulder.

"Checking for another contract." Ryou answered. "Sometimes there is another contract that is the same as another only a different person signs it. It's pretty much a co-sign. And the two contracts are combined into one, revealing the other with a spell."

As Ryou finished talking, the contract Solomon had signed changed into one that Pegasus had signed.

"I, Pegasus, herby will accept one voice in exchange for a potion that will give the drinker legs for three days." Bakura read aloud. "Yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah. I will not get involved in any way, shape, or form, during the three days the drinker has."

Bakura stopped reading, and everyone turned to glare at Pegasus. If looks could kill, that Tako would be 10 ft. under.

"What?" Pegasus asked.

"You got involved." Atemu said as he swam out of the shadows.

Atemu had a black tail with crimson streaks that started at his knees. The Millennium Puzzle was on a rope around his neck, and rested on his stomach.

"Atemu." Yugi whispered as he darted into Atemu's arms.

"Everything will be okay Yugi." Atemu said soothingly as he wrapped his arms around the crying Hikari, and then turned his attention back to Pegasus. "You place an enchantment on me so I would marry you and ignore Yugi. If that's not getting involved, than I don't know what is."

"You monster!" Yugi screeched and slapped Pegasus across the face. "You have no hold over my grandpa. Or me."

"Don't fool with me you little brat!" Pegasus snarled and backhanded Yugi right into Atemu's arms from the force of the strong hit. "Contract or not, I have the trident now, making me the king of the oceans. I'm not giving it up so your grandfather will stay where he is. AAAAHH!"

Pegasus grabbed his arm as he got hit by a blast of magic. Atemu glared at the Tako as he held Yugi.

"Why you little troll!" Pegasus snarled.

"Atemu look out!" Seto shouted and pulled his cousin out of the way as Pegasus sent a blast of magic at him and Yugi.

The entire group swam out of Pegasus' home. Rebecca and Arthur fled back towards the palace in hopes of alerting the locals to head into hiding.

"Now what?" Marik asked.

"Get the trident away." Malik answered with an eye roll.

"And how, pray tell, are we going to do that?" Seto glared over his shoulder.

"Who knows." Joey said. "I'm just trying not to get hit with magic blasts sent by Pegasus."

Sure enough, magic from the trident and the Millennium Eye were being shot at the group.

"I have an idea." Malik grinned.

"What?" Marik asked, curious.

"Just follow my lead." Malik replied.

Marik and Malik peeled off from the rest of the group, leading to all of the magic being shot at them. Until a bolt hit Para and Dox.

"Look what you've done!" Pegasus screamed.

"No." Marik grinned. "You did that yourself."

As Pegasus's yell of rage echoed across the ocean floor, the group sped up to the surface. As their heads broke through the surface, the Millennium Puzzle glowed, and Atemu, Seto, Marik, and Bakura all had legs again. Thankfully, they also had their under tunics on as well.

"What gives?" Bakura whined as he was supported by Ryou.

"The wish allowed us fins so we could _rescue Yugi_." Seto emphasized. "He's been rescued."

"Atemu, you've got to get away from here." Yugi insisted upon seeing his Yami with legs again.

"No, I won't leave you." Atemu replied firmly as he pulled Yugi into a hug. " I almost lost you once, and I'm not going to lose you again."

A large splash next to them caused them to turn to see a gigantic Pegasus. His head alone was as big as the wedding ship.

"Holy Hathor!" Bakura gasped. "He's huge!"

"You pitiful, insignificant fools!" Pegasus boomed. "You can't escape me!"

"Look out!" Seto shouted as a tentacle came right towards them.

They all dove out of the way as Pegasus began his tirade. He would show those pathetic little mortals who the true boss of the sea was.

"Now I am the ruler of the entire ocean!" Pegasus declared as he made a storm with gigantic waves. "The waves obey my every whim!"

"_Atemu_!" Yugi screamed as the rolling waves separated them.

Taking the hint, Joey grabbed onto Seto and Malik held onto Marik, Bakura was already being supported by Ryou. They quickly swam towards a cluster of rocks they all could hang onto. Yugi tried to follow Atemu, but the rough ocean was too strong for the young merman.

"The sea and all of its spoils bow to my power!" Pegasus declared.

The crazed Tako created a whirlpool raised some sunken shipwrecks. Yugi barley managed to keep from getting run over by grabbing a rock that was dangerously close to the whirlpool. Searching frantically, Yugi spotted Atemu get pushed under the hull of a boat, and then again as he begin climb up a rope on the side of it so he could reach the deck. Reaching the rail, he pulled himself over and ran to the wheel.

Noticing a mob of spiky hair in the water, Pegasus shot the trident at Yugi, making him fall to the bottom of the whirlpool. Groaning, Yugi looked up in time to see Pegasus take aim at him with the trident, sending magical blast after magical blast at him. Every time Yugi narrowly dodged the blows.

Pegasus was so obsessed with his new powers, he failed to notice the ship being steered directly towards him by Atemu. The jagged bowsprit projected from the front of the ship like a sword. The prince had a plan, and only one change to make it happen.

"So much for true love!" Pegasus laughed wickedly as he prepared to deliver the final blow.

Yugi gasped in horror and watched in fear as the trident started to lower. And then Pegasus stopped as he turned to see what he had failed to notice until it was too late.

Atemu turned the ship at the last moment so he impaled Pegasus' stomach with his wooden sword. With a loud scream as the wood speared his stomach, Pegasus felt his life rapidly leave him. Atemu leapt overboard as the tentacles surrounded the boat and Pegasus died. Atemu made it back to shore, where he collapsed on the beach. The Millennium Eye lay next to him.

Back under the sea, all of the merfolk sealed away were re-awoken since Pegasus was now dead. The bodies had been stored under the main floor, and everyone swam out as fast as they could.

The trident fell next to the limp body of King Solomon, glowing as his soul re-entered his body and the shackles fell off of his wrists. Shaking himself briefly, Solomon picked up his trident with a smile. Everything was back to normal again.

Almost everything.

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> Review and ask questions!


	10. Chapter 10

**Alverna:** And here's chapter 10, the last chapter. WAH! -locks self in authors room-

**Bakura:** What's with her?

**Yugi:** She really likes this story. And what happens to you Bakura.

**Bakura:** What happens to me?

**Atemu:** Oh, nothing. -holding the chapter of the story-

**Bakura:** Give! -lunges at Atemu-

**Ryou:** Sit down before I knock you out and you never know what happens -Bakura sits down-

**Yugi:** Alverna does not own Yu-gi-oh or The Little Mermaid. Enjoy.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

* * *

><p>The long and terrible night was over. The sea was finally calm as the sun rose the next morning. Atemu was still unconscious while Ryou checked Atemu over. Bakura, Seto, and Marik were with him on the shore, concerned for their friend.<p>

Yugi sat perched on a rock by the shore as he watched from a distance. After Pegasus had died, Yugi still remained a merman despite the fact that their contract had been broken. Yugi saw Ryou give a thumbs-up, indicating that his Yami was okay. As his joy that Atemu was okay faded, reality set in as he realized that they would still be separated forever by the two different worlds they lived in.

Behind Yugi, and breaching the surface for the first time in years, was King Solomon. Next to him were Arthur and Rebecca. Solomon was watching his grandson as Joey and Malik popped up next to him. They said nothing, but watched the group on the beach with the same sad eyes.

"He really does love him." Solomon finally said. "Doesn't he, Arthur?"

"Yes my friend." Arthur said as he and Rebecca bobbed next to him. "As we discovered with our children, and have rediscovered with our grandchildren, they need to be free to lead their own lives."

"Yes, I can't believe I forgot that." Solomon chuckled and sighed. " I guess there's just one problem left now."

"And what's that, Your Majesty?" Rebecca asked.

"How much I'm going to miss him." Solomon replied.

Arthur and Rebecca looked at each other before looking back to their king. Solomon activated the magic in his trident, making it glow. He lowered his trident into the water, pointed it at his grandson, and watched as the glow reached the young merman.

Yugi looked down to his fins as he felt a tingling sensation. They were turning back into legs! Gasping, he followed the trail to his grandfather with a grin that just about spilt his face. Joey and Malik also grinned, even though they still had tails. They would ask for their own legs later.

As Atemu woke up and sat up on the beach, he groaned and spat the sea water taste out of his mouth. He didn't know if Yugi was okay, or if he was even alive. He could have been killed when he had killed Pegasus.

"_Now we can walk, now we can run,  
>Now we can stay all day in the sun!<em>"

Atemu looked up as he opened his eyes to see Yugi singing as he walked out of the surf with legs. He was dressed in a prince's tunic with the crown of his people on his head. The symbol on the crown was an ocean wave with a koi fish swimming.

"Yugi!" Atemu cried out in happiness as he got to his feet and raced forward.

Rushing to his beloved, Atemu scooped Yugi into his arms and spun them in a circle as he looked at the young with an expression of awe. After they stopped, their lips _finally_ met for a gentle first kiss. Catcalls and whistles eventually broke the two apart.

"Way to go Yugi." Malik cheered as Joey whistled.

"Nice catch Atemu." Seto snickered as Bakura and Marik made the cat noises.

"Oh, shut up." Atemu snapped as he held a very heavily blushing Yugi close.

* * *

><p>"What's taking so long?" Aknankanon growled as he paced around the throne room.<p>

"I do hope they get back soon." Isis muttered to Mahad and Mana. "The pharaoh is being driven insane with worry."

Then the doors banged open as Bakura and Marik came waltzing into the room, with a disapproving looking Ryou and Seto. Behind them, were Atemu and Yugi, who had legs. Needless to say, Aknankanon was very happy.

"I certainly believe we are all very curious as to how you both met." Aknankanon said after he released Yugi from a breath-be-gone hug.

"We'll explain." Atemu stepped in. "But first…"

Atemu held the Millennium Eye out to his uncle, High Priest Aknadin, who gratefully took it and placed it back where it belonged.

A few hours later, after many breaks and explanations, everyone understood why Yugi and Atemu were so attached to each other, even after only really knowing who the other was after a few day.

"You're the grandson of King Solomon?" Seto asked, still not believing what he had heard.

"Yes." Yugi answered, a tad bit impatient.

"Oh yeah!" Dartz and Alister cheered.

(**A/N:** Look to Chapter 1 for reference)

"So a Yami and a Hikari are soul mates?" Marik clarified.

"Yep." Yugi nodded his head.

"And Ryou was a merman, a Hikari." Bakura added, "He saw me on the beach, fell head over fins, gave up his memory to be with me, and can change only himself back to a merman?"

"Yes." Ryou nodded. "I only have enough magical training for that. Yugi _might_ be able to change others once he completes his training. He has stronger magic than me."

"I have a question." Seto said after everything had been explained.

"And that is?" Yugi looked over from his place on Atemu's lap.

"How are you two going to provide an heir to Egypt?" Seto enquired.

Yugi blushed, to everyone's surprise. Ryou, on the other hand, chuckled. It was a somewhat sensitive topic that had made Yugi scared after he had first heard it, the birds and the bees, or the fish and the dolphins for the merfolk.

"What's so funny?" Bakura asked.

"Well, all Hikari's can conceive and bear children." Ryou looked up from his lap with a sly look. "Remember, they are the submissive in bed in the relationship."

"That makes sense if you're a merman." Seto pointed out. "But he's human now."

"It happens if they turn into a human to." Ryou replied with a shrug.

"Say what?" Bakura turned his full attention to his husband as Yugi started to giggle.

"Isis confirmed it yesterday morning." Ryou blushed softly. "I was going to tell you, but one thing led to another, and I just forgot until now."

Bakura didn't say anything for a few seconds. Actually, he didn't say anything for a few minutes. He toppled out of his chair as he fainted.

"That's something I didn't see coming." Atemu said with humor laced in his voice.

The entire court snickered at Bakura on the floor while Marik completely doubled over laughing. He ended up on the floor from laughing so hard. After a few minutes, some servants came back in the room and dumped a bowl of water onto Bakura, who jolted awake.

"What was that for?" Bakura screeched.

"You fainted." Ryou replied.

"Yeah." Atemu snickered. "Daddy."

"Oh." was all Bakura could say.

* * *

><p>"People of Egypt," Pharaoh Aknankanon began the marriage ceremony again a few days later.<p>

After all of the hustle and bustle that just happened, Yugi and Atemu agreed to wait a few days before getting married. But they still sneaked a few kisses and cuddles when they were alone together.

"We are here today to witness the marriage of Prince Atemu and his real betrothed, Prince Yugi." Aknankanon declared. "Prince Atemu, do you hereby vow to protect and care for Yugi as you do your own family?"

"I do." Atemu said, his voice overcome with love as he looked into Yugi's sparkling eyes..

"Prince Yugi," Aknankanon turned to his _real_ future son-in-law.

But he was interrupted as Joey and Malik thudded onto the rail of the ship for a closer look. Yugi giggled as Marik and Seto helped the blushing merteens get their grip.

"Let's try that again." Aknankanon sighed. "Prince Yugi, do you vow to obey and love Prince Atemu as you do your own family?"

"I do." Yugi replied without hesitation.

"I hereby pronounce you two as married." Aknankanon finished. "Let no man, merman, or octopus, ever separate you."

With the vows finished, Atemu leaned down as Yugi tilted his head up, and they shared their first kiss as a married couple. Except, this kiss was interrupted by an overly excited Silver Fang and Kuriboh, who jumped up on them to give them slobbery wolf kisses and head nuzzles.

"Thema." Atemu scolded as he chuckled. "Kuriboh."

The two duel monsters just looked at them with 'Who, me?' expressions.

Over the edge of the ship, the merpeople all bobbed in the waves as the shouted their congratulations to Yugi and Atemu. It was truly the perfect sight.

Joey and Malik had popped up randomly yesterday, to see how the wedding plans were coming, and Alister had managed to ask Joey if he was the one his parents had caught in their fishing net. When Joey said yes, he went on to explain that merpeople lived a lot longer than humans did. They just call themselves the median of age they look and what they actually are. But now that Yugi was human, he would age like one.

"Congrats pal." Joey said as he gave Yugi a hug.

"You live a good life here, okay?" Malik added as he hugged Yugi to.

"I will." Yugi smiled at his friends.

"We're going to miss you down there." Rebecca said as she gave Yugi her hug.

Surprisingly, Rebecca had found her soul mate as all the merfolk came together to celebrate the wedding. Leon Von Schroeder. They agreed to wait a year or two before getting married though.

"And I'm going to miss all of you as well." Yugi replied tearfully.

Yugi turned his gaze to the open water. Open water except for one person. King Solomon used his magic to raise himself up to the deck level, where he and his grandson embraced. Yugi was so grateful that this grandfather had allowed him to follow his heart's desire.

"I love you Grandpa." Yugi whispered.

As the two pulled apart, Solomon looked at Atemu, who bow respectfully to the sea king. Solomon returned the gesture before he sank back down into the ocean, and the ship pulled away with Yugi and Atemu waving good-bye. Wanting to make the day as special as possible, Solomon waved his trident and made a magical rainbow for his grandson, the first one he had ever seen.

As the ship sailed off, Yugi and Atemu knew they would always be together. The Egyptian Prince and the Little Merman.

_Now we can walk, now we can run,  
>Now we can stay all day in the sun.<br>Just you and me,  
>And I can be,<br>Part of your world._

* * *

><p><strong>Alverna:<strong> The End. -It's obvious she's been crying-

**Everyone:** Please Review.

**Marik:** Even if it is the last chapter.

**Alverna: **And thank you to everyone who reviewed, favored, subscribed, and anything else I am forgetting.


	11. NOTE! Not a chapter

Wow. I knew I was going to do a sequel, but I didn't know I would get such a popular demand for it.

Just don't expect it untill next spring. Or after New Years, but most likely next spring.

Why? I ride a moped, that a mini-motercycle for those who don't know. If you don't know what a motercycle is, look it up.

I can only update at the library when the weather is nice. I live in Minnesota, so we all know how great the weather here is. (No insults meant. I was being sarcastic.)

I will post a notice on the end of this one when I get the first chapter up, (due to my pairing ideas).

Don't ask for sneak peaks on anything, you won't get any.

But I am co-writing an "Aladdin" story with VampiressBeauty20. Look on her page for story, chapter 2 should be up soon.

Till then, bye!


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